James Cameron has admitted the subsequent 'Alien' and 'Terminator' movies were never as good as the original.
James Cameron
The 62-year-old filmmaker helmed the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and the 1986 sequel to Sir Ridley Scott's 'Alien' but he admitted these films set a standard and the following films weren't as good.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the filmmaker said: "The subsequent 'Alien' films haven't been as good as 'Alien' and Aliens'.
"They set a standard the other movies were judged against. That's true of the 'Terminator' films as well.
"But it doesn't diminish the original accomplishment in any way. If anything it makes the original seem better by comparison.
"That doesn't mean I bet against the new films - I go 'all right guys, let's see the magic'. I've been disappointed.
"The problem is, I'm so damn analytical I can point out exactly what didn't work. If I had 20 minutes with the filmmaker ahead of time, I might have been able to help.
"But that's just not how this business works."
Both franchises have spawned multiple following movies, with 'Terminator' having five follow ups. with a sixth in the making, and 'Alien' has four sequels and two prequels.
In the second instalment of the 'Terminator' franchise, the filmmaker decided to change the iconic character from the evil, killing-machine to a good cyborg and admitted Schwarzenegger was nervous about it.
He said: "I gave Arnold the script as we board the plane to Cannes Film Festival.
"It was still warm from the printer as I'd been scrambling to get it done for the deadline. The next morning he said to me 'Jim - I don't kill anybody' I said, 'yeah - it's the big surprise. They're never going to see it coming'.
"He responded 'Jim - I'm the Terminator. I kick the door down, I shoot everybody. This is what I do'. He was really nervous about it."