Cameron's uninhibited feelings on Piranha 3D are so obviously deeply felt (and spot-on, in my opinion) that I can't help but show them in their entirety.
I tend almost never to throw other films under the bus, but [Piranha 3D] is exactly an example of what we should not be doing in 3-D. Because it just cheapens the medium and reminds you of the bad 3-D horror films from the 70s and 80s, like Friday the 13th 3-D. When movies got to the bottom of the barrel of their creativity and at the last gasp of their financial lifespan, they did a 3-D version to get the last few drops of blood out of the turnip.
All true. Is there anyone who thinks that Clash of the Titans suddenly became 3D because of how it would enrich the movie rather than because they could charge an extra five bucks?
My only disagreement with Cameron is when he states that we're in the middle of a "3D renaissance." I think there's been exactly one movie that's utilized 3D as an enhancement to its storytelling and that was Avatar. Otherwise, it's a bit of a mixed bag: at best, it's superfluous, like Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon; at worst, it renders everything murky and impenetrable, like Clash of the Titans or The Last Airbender, or it produces a splitting headache like Step Up 3D.
Cameron's work in 3D has been excellent, but I think there needs to be at least one more shining example in the field before I agree that we're in a golden age of 3D filmmaking.
ยท Q&A: James Cameron Talks About Avatar's Re-release [Vanity Fair]