James Cameron's 122-Minute Cyberpunk Hit Is Quietly Superior To Avatar

Published Aug 3, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. James Cameron wrote and produced a science fiction adventure that didn't get nearly the attention of his Avatar franchise, but which may be better, if you really squint your oversized eyes, that is. The Avatar franchise feels like an anomaly in the modern movie ecosystem, but also a reminder of why some corners of the internet refer to James Cameron as "Big Jim". In a world dominated by superhero movies and IP, Avatar continues to rake it in at the box office. For a story that's not particularly original, Cameron has managed to create an incredibly unique world around characters and plot points pulled out of classics from Pocahontas to Dances with Wolves. Despite its success, it would be a hard argument to rank any of the Avatar films among even the top five Cameron movies, especially when you include the films he's worked on but didn't direct. That list is smaller, though it has some standouts, like Alita: Battle Angel, which some might argue is Cameron's real contemporary sci-fi success story. Alita: Battle Angel is a 2019 film, written and produced by Cameron with Robert Rodriguez in the director's chair. Based on the manga series Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel stars Rosa Salazar as Alita, a cyborg who awakes in a new body, with no memory of who she is or how she got here. In a futuristic version of Earth, Alita uncovers a lost destiny in this cyberpunk adventure. Alita: Battle Angel earned $404.9 million at the box office (via BoxOfficeMojo) and a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, but for a lot of viewers, it's just the movie with the big weird eyes. Alita definitely has big weird eyes, but there's more to it than that. Whisper It, But Alita: Battle Angel Is Better Than Any Of The Avatar Movies Is Alita: Battle Angel better than Avatar, the first and best film in the Avatar franchise? If you think so, you should say so quietly; the Avatar stans are as ferociously devoted to the series as any MCU or DCEU disciple. It's not a totally absurd claim to make, though. It's an odd duck of a movie, which is almost a staple of Robert Rodriguez movies, but that bizarre quality makes for a very interesting story if you can get on its wavelength. The special effects in Alita: Battle Angel are incredible, and it's a testament to the animation that Alita's strange eyes feel more otherworldly than they do uncanny. Alita: Battle Angel vs. Avatar Year Title Rotten Tomatoes Box Office (Millions) 2009 Avatar 81% $2,743.6 2019 Alita: Battle Angel 61% $404.9 2022 Avatar: The Way of Water 76% $2,334.5 2025 Avatar: Fire and Ash 66% $1,485.9 Beyond those effects, Alita: Battle Angel crams together all sorts of clichés and tropes from other action and science fiction movies, but instead of being an unpleasant mess, it's a kaleidoscope. It's a loyal adaptation of the manga as well, something that might be taken for granted in an age when we have shows like One Piece, but was a pleasant surprise in 2019. Why Alita: Battle Angel 2 Hasn't Happened Yet, Despite The Clear Setup The end of Alita: Battle Angel is as cliffhanger as you can get without having someone actually hang from the edge of a cliff. It sets up a second movie, plot and all, and yet, one never materialized despite the financial success. The first film was distributed by 20th Century Fox, but soon after, Disney acquired the studio, and it's possible that plans for a sequel were put aside in the shuffle. There is some good news, however. In November 2025, James Cameron said that he and Rodriguez "...have sworn a blood oath..." to make another Alita movie, and even suggested a third was not out of the realm of possibility (via EmpireOnline). It's possible that Alita: Battle Angel is just in stasis for now. Release Date February 14, 2019 Runtime 122 minutes Director Robert Rodriguez