All 9 James Cameron movies ranked from worst to best

1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

A rare case of a sequel outdoing its predecessor, Terminator 2: Judgment Day‘s victory here isn’t a case of what The Terminator fell short in but more so what T2 succeeded at. A movie like the 1984 classic easily lends itself to a sequel that follows the same format, produces a similar outcome, and fails to add anything new to the story, but that’s not what James Cameron wanted to give audiences in T2.

The 1992 movie flips the script on its predecessor, bringing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s menacing cyborg back – except this time, he’s not the villain of the story, he’s its hero. A Terminator reprogrammed by John Connor in the future, he is sent back in time to protect 10-year-old John Connor in the past, who is at the mercy of the more-advanced T-1000. Joining them in the fight against the machines is Sarah Connor, now a hardened warrior intent on killing Skynet before it’s born.

T2‘s contributions to the world of special effects are well-documented, but the film also earned itself a place in history for being one of the all-time greatest action blockbusters ever made – and to do that as a sequel to a low-budget thriller is just an example of how the movie defied expectations. And we can’t close out without mentioning Hamilton’s career-defining performance as the ultimate action hero.

Cameron’s finest work and it isn’t even close.

Which James Cameron movie is your favorite? Have you seen Avatar 2 yet? Where would you rank it among his all-time greats?