This is a false premise. James Cameron movies make a lot of money because they are good. Transformers movies make a lot of money because they’re associated with a popular brand.
James Cameron makes movies with simple plots, sure. But he also writes character-driven narratives that aren’t really that focused on plot to begin with. Look at even his most acclaimed films on this sub and they’re all relatively simple plot-wise even in comparison to Avatar 2. Many popular action blockbusters are. I don’t see anyone pissing on A New Hope or Raiders of the Lost Ark or Jaws for “having a simple plot”. Another recent example would be Top Gun: Maverick.
What propels James Cameron films (and the four other aforementioned films) above typical action films is that the characters are compelling and memorable and the action scenes are visceral, relevant to the character’s emotion journey, arc, development, etc, and they are easy to follow. Michael Bay does neither of these things. His characters suck and are unlikable and his action scenes are impossible to make sense of at all and have no larger purpose and therefore are not that thrilling at all.
Just a sidebar as I’m seeing it in a lot of comments - folks that hold up “unobtainium” as the epitome of bad writing must be unaware of how whimsical scientists are when they discover and name a lot of shit that exists in the real world. Frequently cheeky and on-the-nose. It’s really not that ridiculous or unbelievable.
al323211 t1_j2em2n1 wrote
Reply to Why people act like james cameron is a great filmmaker because his movie gross well at Box-office while also hating directors like Michael bay who do the exact same thing ? by HumbleCamel9022
This is a false premise. James Cameron movies make a lot of money because they are good. Transformers movies make a lot of money because they’re associated with a popular brand.
James Cameron makes movies with simple plots, sure. But he also writes character-driven narratives that aren’t really that focused on plot to begin with. Look at even his most acclaimed films on this sub and they’re all relatively simple plot-wise even in comparison to Avatar 2. Many popular action blockbusters are. I don’t see anyone pissing on A New Hope or Raiders of the Lost Ark or Jaws for “having a simple plot”. Another recent example would be Top Gun: Maverick.
What propels James Cameron films (and the four other aforementioned films) above typical action films is that the characters are compelling and memorable and the action scenes are visceral, relevant to the character’s emotion journey, arc, development, etc, and they are easy to follow. Michael Bay does neither of these things. His characters suck and are unlikable and his action scenes are impossible to make sense of at all and have no larger purpose and therefore are not that thrilling at all.
Just a sidebar as I’m seeing it in a lot of comments - folks that hold up “unobtainium” as the epitome of bad writing must be unaware of how whimsical scientists are when they discover and name a lot of shit that exists in the real world. Frequently cheeky and on-the-nose. It’s really not that ridiculous or unbelievable.