James Cameron’s favourite 21st century movies
He may have only directed two features since Titanic sailed into cinemas in 1997 – handing him the unique distinction of helming three films in a row that each earned upwards of $2 billion at the global box office – but James Cameron isn’t somebody who has a lot of free time on his hands.
When he’s not immersed in the world of Pandora creating the mythology or pioneering production techniques required for his Avatar sequels, Cameron will more often than not be found indulging his fascination with deep sea exploration. Somehow, though, he still finds the time to watch movies.
Cameron isn’t one to heap praise on any old project that comes along – even if his glowing appraisal of Terminator sequels Genisys and Dark Fate puts him firmly in the minority – but several of his favourites have been released since the turn of the 21st century stand out as completely and utterly unexpected.
Inexplicably, Cameron admitted to Empire that he finds Paul W.S. Anderson’s video game adaptation Resident Evil to be “quite beautifully made”. It might have even spurred him on to cast Michelle Rodriguez in Avatar, too, considering that he found her performance as Rain Ocampo to be “joyful”.
The near-the-knuckle shenanigans of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat have also wormed their way into Cameron’s heart, even if he admits that “after three viewings, there’s one scene I still haven’t seen because of the tears in my eyes.” Sadly, his opinion on the sequel Subsequent Moviefilm has yet to be disclosed.
Christopher Nolan’s Inception does sound as if it would be right up Cameron’s street, though, which he confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter when lamenting its lack of a ‘Best Director’ nomination at the Academy Awards: “I wish Chris Nolan had gotten nominated for directing that film because I think that it’s the most astounding piece of film creation and direction of the year, hands down.”
Cameron has repeatedly compared his undertaking with Avatar to what Peter Jackson accomplished on The Lord of the Rings, albeit with the caveat he had to create his own mythology from the ground up, saying to Deadline that “they proved the model, and I was fascinated by that.” He’d also call Jackson’s realisation of Middle-Earth something he wanted to “emulate” when crafting his own richly detailed fantasy world.
As someone with a history of strong female protagonists, it shouldn’t be a shock to discover Cameron named The Woman King as “my kind of film,” either, for no other reason than its focus on “women kicking ass.” It’s an eclectic selection of 21st-century favourites, without a doubt, but it also makes it patently clear that despite his enormous success, Cameron is hardly one for cinematic snobbery.
James Cameron’s favourite 21st-century movies:
- Resident Evil (Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002)
- Borat (Larry Charles, 2006)
- The Woman King (Gina Prince-Blythewood, 2022)
- The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003)
- Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
