James Cameron’s technicolour raincoat

Apart from being known for his sequels, Cameron is revered for his efforts in advancing technical effects in cinema the likes of which is seen in Aliens, Titanic and The Terminator

Apart from being the king of the world, James Cameron is also the king of sequels. There is no one before (yes, yes, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II, was better than the first film) and after him who has managed to create sequels better than the first outing. In these days of tired re-treads, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are beacons of innovation and imagination.

Aliens (1986) came seven years after that little critter burst out of John Hurt’s chest in Ridley Scott’s Alien. Aliens, with its heart-stopping battle sequences and white-knuckle tension, was a showcase for Cameron’s skills and interests. The movie has all Cameron trademarks including technical innovations, the warrior woman in Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the moral ambiguity of synths—science officer Ash (Ian Holm) is an android and might not have the humans’ best interests at heart.

Aliens, the haunted house in space, was terrifyingly good. It proved that Cameron apart from being the king of the world and sequels, was also the monarch of special effects. Using scale models and miniatures, he worked with conceptual artist Syd Mead and special-effects creator Stan Winston to create the world of Aliens.

The Abyss (1989) followed Aliens and featured the mandatory eye-searing special effects, which got the film an Academy Award. It was also in the news for Cameron’s autocratic ways which had the cast and crew throwing sofas out the window! The Abyss, a film about a search-and-recovery team looking for a submarine sunk in the Caribbean, also features Cameron’s fascination for the deep, which continued with Titanic and numerous documentaries. He contributed to technical advances in underwater filming and also was the first to explore the deepest part of the Mariana Trench alone.

It is time for a bit of a flashback. The 28-year-old Cameron was in Rome directing Piranha II: The Spawning in 1982. He was hired as special effects director but when Miller Drake, the director, left due to creative differences, Cameron stepped in. It was not a happy experience for him and suffering from a fever, Cameron imagined being hunted by a robot hitman and The Terminator (1984) was born — oh that we could have such productive nightmares!

Not having the budget for futuristic sets, The Terminator is set in 1984 Los Angeles. A cyborg assassin, (Arnold Schwarzenegger) comes from the future (2029—does not seem so far away now) to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose son, John, would be the leader of the resistance after machines become self-aware and decide to get rid of their human masters. A straightforward chase movie, the lean, mean fighting machine that was The Terminator was gripping from the get go with a blank-faced Schwarzenegger being a shoe-in for the relentless killing machine.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) was supremely entertaining, and a watershed moment for technology. Sarah Connor becomes full on warrior mom, while Schwarzenegger’s T-800 has been reprogrammed to protect John. It is the T-1000, played by Robert Patrick, who had all the mind bending special effects. Made of mimetic poly-alloy, (I can almost hear the T-800 bite off the words in my head), the T-1000 takes the shape of whatever it touches. That scene where he comes to the hospital to kill Sarah and takes on the shape of the floor still induces goose bumps. While John (Edward Furlong) teaching the T-800 to be cool is very jolly (hasta la vista… baby), the special effects are well worth the $5 million bill, the 35-member team and the 10 months it took to produce. The visual effects naturally got the Academy Award in 1992.