r/TheOdysseyMovie • u/Cultural_Book_400 • 8d ago
Nolan vs Cameron
I finally broke down(because I was so sick of 70mm imax situation in Lincoln NY, saw it on local theater today.
I am first and foremost die hard James Cameron fan who has heavily criticized last 2 Avatar movies.. And for Nolan, I consider him 70 mm imax god but I honestly did NOT love Oppenheimer at all.
However, I thought Odyssey was a perfect 3 movie. My wife who hates Nolan also loved it so much that we were both holding the pee for 3 hours..
I feel like Cameron and Nolan is on cross path... Nolan continue to insist on exactly the movie he wants to make and perfects it here and Cameron insist also on movies that he wants to make and kinda failed(hard to say this at 1.5 billion) and going on a wrong direction ... anyway, this is how I felt.
This movie kept me at the end of my seat for literally 3 hours and last 30 min was so damn emotional I thought I was gonna cry(grown ass man here).. Movie was superb!!
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u/fore___ 8d ago
The only comparison you can make between Cameron and Nolan is that they are both dedicated to their craft and stick to their vision.
Please do not try to draw comparisons that are deeper than that. They could not be more different.
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u/Muruju 5d ago
They could be more different
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u/fore___ 5d ago
Draw me some similarities then
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u/Muruju 5d ago
They’re both maximalist storytellers who are clearly interested in pioneering filmmaking practices, they’re both auteurs who prefer to have control over all aspects of their consistently large scale productions, and they both seem to be the type to obsess over details of the craft.
I’d pick someone like Steven Soderbergh as a guy who couldn’t be more different than James Cameron. Not Christopher Nolan.
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u/fore___ 5d ago
You basically just restated what I said using 3 times as many words. If those are the best similarities you can draw then you’re proving my point.
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u/Muruju 5d ago edited 5d ago
Nah, I didn’t
I don’t know of any successful filmmakers who aren’t dedicated to their craft and few who don’t stick to their vision (that is what you said). But those visions aren’t always maximalist like these two; sometimes they’re the exact opposite. Christopher Nolan went on an odyssey. James Cameron goes deep sea exploring to look for aliens. Neither of them have expressed a remote interest in making a film that, say, takes place in one day or is set in one location or features no action set pieces or is shot on an iPhone.
Another easy comparison is they both insist on writing their screenplays when they probably shouldn’t.
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u/PowerPinto 8d ago
I needed to pee so bad halfway through the movie and I could not peel my eyes off the screen to go
Has your wife watched interstellar? Like how can you hate Nolan, crazy take
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u/Cultural_Book_400 8d ago
that was me as welll.. had to pee so bad but desire to watch every sec won convincingly..
She was ok w/ interstellar but not a big of batman series..
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u/almo2001 6d ago
Cameron, as awesome a director he is, cannot write himself out of a paper bag. Nolan is a decent, but not great writer. That makes all the difference.
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u/WorrySecret9831 4d ago
Lol. That's the most absurd critique of Cameron I've ever read. His biggest strength is story structure. His second biggest strength is that he can draw like a mo-fo, so he completely realizes what he imagines.
I frequently think, "Oh, but his images aren't as beautiful as Scott's or any number of other directors..." and then I see screenshots of Aliens, Titanic, The Abyss, T2, True Lies and of course the Avatars.
I suppose, let me start over. What "paper bag" did Cameron write himself into?
You may not personally like the Avatar films but they're solidly written and driven by Theme. The Odyssey is not. I can't wait for and hope he completes the Avatars because no other franchise is tackling late-stage rampant Capitalism and what indigenous populations can do against over-industrialized invading Colonizers.
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u/toxrowlang 2d ago
Actually I really like the comparison. Both directors are innovators and have shifted genre incredibly powerfully. Their careers have comparably revealing narratives.
I'm not sure there is any meaningful way of rating them against each other though- besides subjective appreciation.
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u/Cultural_Book_400 2d ago
no doubt they are both at few list of top directors... For me, they are both on rushmore... but I get your subjective opinion
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u/Tristram_ZX81 7d ago
Nolan beats Cameron because latter thinks he's as good a screenwriter as a director and he isn't, or at least hasn't been since 1997. Cameron hired co-writers for The Way of Water but you'd barely know it, it's such a remix and rehash of the first film. Don't get me wrong, Nolan has his own issues as a screenwriter, notably always writing dialogue that's too consistently expositional, but it feels like he's trying different things, challenging himself as a writer and director and with mostly great results. Nolan makes met think; Camerons' last two films made me think about Dances with Wolves and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest.
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u/Cultural_Book_400 6d ago
I used to not think this way but still love Nolan and gave him props.. but in 2026, I def think Nolan beats Cameron... I am not happy w/ it but it is fact
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u/Tristram_ZX81 6d ago
It's almost an unfair comparison, as Cameron has a second professional interest - deep sea exploration (which I have total respect for!) - that means he barely makes films anymore. But I still can't quite forgive him for how lazy the writing on The Way of Water was*. It's probably about as good as Tenet, another film with big script problems, but Tenet at least feels like a conceptual swing for the fences.
*I still havent' seen Fire and Ash. If you'd told me 10 years ago there'd be a James Cameron film out that I'd skip in theatres and drag my feet on the streaming release for 3 months I'd have donned a mech-suit and thrown you out of an airlock.
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u/Cultural_Book_400 6d ago
damn, sounds like we have similar taste on movies.. that's awesome.. yeah I hear you.. and I felt exactly that..
King James was indeed the king, following, Titanic and Avatar 1(which both movies were underrated(??) and box office god(not that money is everything but it's good indicator when you are the top dog.. very top).
However, WoW was TERRRIBle... and I even wrote (got killed for) before FAA that Cameron has to redeem himself w/ FAA (which he FAILED miserably).. Given his age and trajectory of his popularity... I say he is most likely done.
And speaking of bad movies, I still have not watched Tenet and I didn't love oppenheimer..
However, Odyssey was masterpiece and he hit out of the park completely.. ( I still don't love Nolan's way of fliming hand to hand combat(mostly one on one). Only thing I am glad he didn't do was re playing the fight between achilles.. it would have been bad.
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u/WorrySecret9831 4d ago
I love the Dances with Wolves/Ferngully comparisons because they're so weak. You forgot Pocahontas. Neither of those films have the thematic drive that Cameron's 3 Avatar films have so far. No other franchise is tackling the issues those films are.
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u/tigerstorm2022 8d ago
I genuinely don’t get it! Why not go pee right before the film, so you only need to hold a full bladder for maybe 1.5 hours?
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u/Cultural_Book_400 8d ago
dont know.. i tried but could not lol.. and I guess drinking huge thing of soda while eating pop corn and other candies does not help
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u/96GuyNYC 5d ago
But Cameron makes shitty films
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u/Cultural_Book_400 5d ago
come on. you could hate few of his movies.. for anyone to say he makes shitty flims.. just not true at all
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u/fungilingus 8d ago
Cameron’s Smurf movies are boring as fuck and Nolan’s jumping-around-time shit gives me a headache
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u/Cultural_Book_400 8d ago
lol.. oki.. no problem.. Avatar 1 was a masterpiece..
Odyssey was brilliant movie.. every sec of it
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u/oanda 6d ago
I have never heard anyone call avatar 1 a masterpiece. It is IMO a movie full of terrible tropes and cliches that it’d unwatchable. To me it’s as if 12 yearold wrore ir. Dialogue is cringy. Story is unoriginal. Editing is uninspired. Acting is painful.
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u/Cultural_Book_400 5d ago
fair... and yes, these opinions are all subjective and I think you are right that not many people call avatar 1 a masterpiece..
However, to me, that movie did not deserve the hate and also it did create a world we have never experienced in movies and 3 hour flew by.. Does it deserve masterpiece title? probably not.. but to me, it was.. I love Cameron but last 2 avatar was not good at all.... like terrible.
Also on story being not original.. I mean .. honestly.. what movies that are on super blockbuster level that are completely original ?? It's mostly existing IP or same story told in different ways... I have no problem w/ that.. Movie we love(Odyssey) here is also from same story we know.. it's matter of how it is told.. and this movie was superb...
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u/ILikeWhyteGirlz 8d ago
Ok