James Cameron hits back at Avatar criticism

James Cameron has hit back at critics of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

The 71-year-old director has been blasted by some fans for his use of 3D and high frame rate (HFR) in 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water and its follow-up Fire and Ash but he insists they make the movie better.

While most standard movies are presented at 24 frames per second (fps), Cameron, has been using 48fps for large sections, to make the scenes appear more "real."

He told Discussing Film: “I think $2.3 billion [box office] says you might be wrong on that. Well, that’s the argument from authority, but the argument from artistic is I happen to like it, and it’s my movie."

Meanwhile, Cameron recently warned that the rise in streaming services has led to a "tragic year" for the moviegoing experience and thinks filmmakers need to break away from convention in order for it to be worthwhile for people to leave their homes to see their work.

He told The Times newspaper: “There’s no way to talk about what audiences want without talking about the decline of cinema.

"The cinematic experience is being supplanted in our cultural discussion by streaming.

"Covid gave cinema a big kick and people moved to a different way of taking in their storytelling.

"And so, when people go to a cinema they want something so far outside the norm that it’s worth hiring a babysitter for. Avatar sits in that demographic and so I don’t see it being diminished much, but I mourn box-office revenues.

"We are coming out of a tragic year at the cinema.”