James Cameron has described parts of his film The Terminator as “cringeworthy”, as the sci-fi classic reaches its 40th birthday.
The film was first released in 1984, a low-budget project helmed by Cameron as his first major feature, with the future Avatar and Titanic director also writing the screenplay, alongside Gale Anne Hurd.
It starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular Terminator, a cybernetic android disguised as a human, sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction.
Despite the film’s huge commercial success, spawning five sequels, in a new interview with Empire, Cameron has said there are parts of the film that he now finds difficult to watch.
“I don’t think of it as some Holy Grail, that’s for sure,” he said. “I look at it 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?” he continued. “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.”
“You know what? Let me see your three-out-of-the-four-highest-grossing films — then we’ll talk about dialogue effectiveness,” he added, defending himself by referencing the two Avatar releases, as well as Titanic.
Meanwhile, last month, Cameron revealed that the official title of the next Avatar film will be Avatar: Fire And Ash. During an appearance at a convention in California, he also confirmed the sequel to 2022’s The Way Of Water will be released on December 19, 2025.
“The new film is not what you expect, but definitely what you want,” the director said.
He went on to say it was “too soon” to share footage but let the audience look at “cool concept art” which featured characters in the sky surrounded by fire.
It comes after Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider recently revealed there was a nine-hour long director’s cut of the forthcoming sequel and it could be turned into a limited Disney+ series.
Fire And Ash was filmed alongside The Way Of Water and a currently-untitled fourth film, and although fans had assumed Michelle Yeoh would be appearing in the coming instalments after she was photographed on set, Cameron has made clear she will not be in the films.
In a four-star review of Avatar: The Way Of Water for NME, Ali Shutler wrote: “Bigger, bolder and definitely better than the original, Avatar: The Way Of Water pushes the technical boundaries of cinema without feeling like a science experiment. It really does need to be seen on the biggest screen possible through a pair of awkward 3D glasses. Unlike its predecessor though, you won’t forget this experience in a hurry.”