There's an expression you may have heard about "Avatar: The Way of Water," and that expression is this: "Never bet against James Cameron."

After all, James Cameron has directed one gigantic hit film after another, ever since his modestly budgeted breakout "The Terminator" got him gigs directing the action-packed monster movie "Aliens," followed by the ambitious undersea epic "The Abyss," the groundbreaking "Terminator II," the blockbuster action comedy "True Lies," and hey, did you ever hear about "Titanic" and "Avatar?" They made quite a bit of money. Just thought you should know, in case you somehow missed that.

Although fans might be eager to paint Cameron as an infallible hit machine, his directing career actually started with a critically lambasted dud: "Piranha II: The Spawning," a 1982 sequel to Joe Dante's 1978 horror comedy "Piranha," which was itself an unapologetic rip-off of "Jaws." It was an inauspicious debut for the future Oscar-winning filmmaker,...