James Cameron: Battleship degrades cinema

I guess I'm feeling argumentative today, but I saw an interview where James Cameron, director of movies like Titanic, and Avatar, the two highest grossing movies of all time said movies like the upcoming Battleship, based of the popular board game are degrading cinema. And, while he has more than earned the right to speak his mind, I disagree. Partly.

Firstly, the idea of a movie based of the board game Battleship is a terrible idea. I'm not judging the movie, I'm judging the idea and it sounds horrible. I also agree that Hollywood is only banking on those movies that already have an audience, meaning original ideas take a backseat to lame, stupid ideas, which does not invoke originality.

So, while I agree Hollywood is playing it far too safe lately, we only have ourselves to blame. Me included. I saw Transformers 1 & 2 in theaters. I freely admit it, and I don't care. I'll even go as far as to say I enjoyed the first Transformers movie. I'm not alone, either. Those movies raked in the dough, and as long as they do, Hollywood will continue to make them.

I do disagree that making a movie like Battleship will degrade cinema. I'm sure the same was said during the grindhouse era of the '70s too, where cheap, crappy movies were churned out every week, but did that hurt cinema? No, it helped it. These movies are the same. If it's entertaining, it's not hurting anything. That's what a movie, first and foremost should be about, entertainment. There are exceptions, such as documentaries and such, but a movie should be entertaining first. Whether it's entertaining because it ripped off a cartoon in the '60s, or Ferngully, it's still entertaining, and therefor worth my hard-earned...well, my money.

What do you think? Is Battleship hurting movies?