James Cameron Flexes His 3 Highest Grossing Movies of All Time to Silence His Haters Once and For All Who Don’t Like His “Cringe” Dialogues

SUMMARY

• Hollywood legend James Cameron has faced criticism for "cringe" dialogues in his films but remains unfazed.
• He responded by pointing to his massive success, with three of the top four highest-grossing films of all time.
• Forty years after its release, Cameron holds The Terminator as one of his most personal and significant works.

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Hollywood would be a lot less interesting, alluring, and engaging if James Cameron hadn’t gotten around to being the legendary filmmaker he is today. One of the most prolific and acclaimed filmmakers of the post-New Hollywood era, the landscape of the film industry would certainly have a lot missing if it wasn’t for his iconic movies like The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar, and more.

James Cameron | Image by Steve Jurvetson, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Despite his revolutionary feat and contributions, Cameron has not been safe from criticism and backlash over a number of things. But being the bold and candid filmmaker he is, he recently clapped back at every hater who called his movie dialogues cringe.

Unfazed by Criticism, James Cameron Boldly Fires Back

A still from James Cameron’s Titanic | Credit: 20th Century Fox

James Cameron isn’t just a filmmaker but a revolutionary figure when it comes to Hollywood. Several of his films are now cult classics, continuing to enjoy enduring popularity and acclaim. A leading figure especially in the science-fiction genre, many of our pop culture icons and elements wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the genius of Cameron.

A recipient of several accolades, including Academy Awards, the filmmaker has received an equal amount of hate and backlash since the start of his career. While many criticize how far from reality his movies are, others believe many of the dialogues in his movies are a cringefest (see Reddit).

But Cameron isn’t fazed by the criticism at all and for a good reason. In his recent interview with the Empire Magazine, on the 40th anniversary of The Terminator, the Oscar-winning director fired back,

I look at it [The Terminator] now and there are parts of it that are pretty cringeworthy, and parts of it that are like, ‘Yeah, we did pretty well for the resources we had available.’ Just the production value, you know? I don’t cringe on any of the dialogue, but I have a lower cringe factor than, apparently, a lot of people do around the dialogue that I write.

A still from Cameron’s movie Avatar | Credits: 20th Century Studios

Accepting that some people might find his dialogues cringe, Cameron nonetheless delivered a befitting blow at the criticism by stating,

You know what? Let me see your three-out-of-the-four-highest-grossing films — then we’ll talk about dialogue effectiveness.

An ironic yet iconic clapback, there is no denying that the Titanic filmmaker isn’t wrong to state the above. Even after all these years and millions of brilliant films made, three of the four highest-grossing movies of all time belong to Cameron.

While 2009’s Avatar and its long-due sequel occupy the first and third place, respectively, at $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, his 1997 Titanic occupies the fourth place with $2.2 billion (via The Numbers).

The Terminator Will Always Be Near and Dear to James Cameron

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Terminator in the film The Terminator | Credit: Carolco Pictures

James Cameron has made numerous movies, but his first rodeo (as he believes it to be) was on the Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer The Terminator. The science fiction set in a post-apocalyptic world film not only ushered a new era for the genre but also launched the careers of both the filmmaker and the film’s lead.

Now forty years later, even though Cameron’s first directing credit was on Piranha II, the filmmaker hails the 1984 flick as one that is the closest and dearest to him.

I was just a punk starting out when I directed The Terminator. I think I was 29 at the time, and it was my first directing gig. Terminator was my first film, and it’s near and dear for that reason.

Stated The Abyss helmer while talking to Empire Magazine. A film like no other with its catchy dialogues (even though some might call them ‘cringe’), adrenaline-packed action, and the hulk of a killing machine called the Terminator, the film went on to become a shocking hit. And so began the decades-long journey of one of the best filmmakers of all time.

The Terminator is available to be rented on Amazon Prime.

Written by Maria Sultan

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