LOS ANGELES • To James Cameron, who created the Terminator franchise in 1984, its character Sarah Connor packs a bigger punch than Wonder Woman.

This despite Wonder Woman landing a box-office knockout and generating praise and pride for the fact that the director and leading actor are women - Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot respectively.

But Cameron, speaking to The Guardian, had a different take on the feel-good factor.

"All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She's an objectified icon and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing.

"I'm not saying I didn't like the movie, but, to me, it's a step backwards."

But "Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit".

"And to me, (the benefit of characters like Sarah) is so obvious."

Jenkins was not slow in reacting, tweeting that "his praise of my film Monster (2003) and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated".

"But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multi-dimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far, have we."

She added: "I believe women can and should be everything, just like male lead characters should be.

"There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film the hit it is can surely choose and judge their icons of progress."