Ranking James Cameron

Page 3 Of 3
Continued from Page 2

2. Aliens

This is one of those movies that, whenever we find it on cable, no matter what part is on, we can't help but tune in. There is too much awesomeness in this movie to put a finger on as to why Cameron's 1986 sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien is our prefered movie chronicling the number one cause of hurtin' for chicks named "Ripley".

Aliens is a bullet of a movie that packs the perfect amount of character development, horror and action into a story that could have been thread-bare in a lesser craftsman's hands. Ripley's return to LV-426, the planet where she first encountered the alien, is now home to a shake-n-bake colony of families and workers, which is basically ringing the dinner bell for the xenomorphs to prove that, in space, everyone can hear you scream if you die loud enough.

Ripley go smash!

Ripley joins an elite group of Colonial Marines sent on a bug hunt, and they quickly find that neither flame thrower nor bug-eyed troopers by way of Hudson are a match for things that bleed acid and sweat slime. Cameron's decision to keep Ripley and Newt as the emotional core of the movie makes the increasing threats around them all the more condusive putting us on the edge of our seats. That, coupled with the Power Loader vs. Alien Queen showdown, underscored by James Horner's epic score, is why Aliens is not just a great Cameron film, but one of the best movies ever made. (Insert dropping of the mic here.)

1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

That's how you make an entrance.

Here's the thing: When your movie's opening titles consist of the nuclear holocaust of Los Angeles, and end with a T-800's metal skull full of redrum in its Skynet eyes, you have officially achieved badassness.

But when you can follow that up with a fatalistic tale of using the past to save a future full of warring machines, you have made a sci-fi film that accomplishes more dramtically than arguably any modern film since T2's release.

Cameron continued the story he began with 1984's Terminator, picking up where he left off: The remains of the first Terminator sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor are now being used by one Miles Dyson to pave the way for Skynet's unique brand of genocide. Following her encounter with the killing machine, Sarah Connor is in a rubber room and battle-ready. And John Connor is a punk teen who rides around on motor bikes with that kid from Salute Your Shorts and hacks into ATMs.

Enter Arnold, once again, this time to protect John Connor from the mimetic metal alloy clutches of a T-1000. Dodging hands that can be turned into knives, and stabbing weapons, the new Terminator joins forces with Sarah and her son in an attempt to save a future that has and has not happened yet, all the while learning why human life is worth saving.

We've seen this film at least 657 times, and it keeps getting better every time. All of Cameron's talents and faculties create a movie that changed the way movies were made and seen. The guy can't make a movie without reinventing the wheel, and we're glad to see that T2 still holds up despite the less-than-stellar efforts of its sequels.

Anyone else wish they could do that gun flip thing as cool as Arnold did it?

Like what you see? Or strongly disagree. It wouldn't be IGN if you didn't have an opinion or 12 of your own to share. Sing our praises or anti-praise in the Comments below.

blog comments powered by Disqus