Rose (Kate Winslet) is a wealthy passenger that is on the Titanic heading to America to marry her fiancé Cal (Billy Zane). While on the ship she meets and falls in love with a poor man named Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Kathy Bates
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language
Fun Fact: The film costed $200 million to make. In 1997 dollars the Titanic would’ve cost around $120-$150 million to build.
Titanic is one of the biggest films to ever be released. I remember when it came out that everyone was talking about it and it had a very long theatrical run. One of the things that I also remember there was a divide of either you liked the film or you wanted to make fun of it and hate it because it was the cool thing to do.
To me Titanic is an amazing piece of film making. For 1997 the CGI was top notch and the effects are phenomenal. When we see the CGI it looks clean, and for the budget that the film had you can tell that the money was well spent on all the effects in general. While the first half of the film has some decent set up, it’s when the ship hits the iceberg is when the film really gets going. The second half really showcases the effects especially when the ship is getting flooded and all the stunt work that goes into it. While I was watching it, I thought to myself that this would’ve been a fun film to work on with the practical water effects going on. It’s a thrill ride that is quite enjoyable.
James Cameron’s script is the basic love story of two social classes that while it isn’t special in any way, it works. Then again, the main feature is the sinking of the ship, and you really don’t need to have an over complicated story to accompany it with. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were great choices for their characters. While it does get old they reference each other by names, the chemistry is there and DiCaprio really brings out the wanting to survive aspect in Jack. The only gripe I really have is Billy Zane’s character. While it isn’t horrible or a badly written character, it’s a little too cartoonish and stereotypical. He’s super rich and doesn’t care about others, he has a henchman that does all his dirty work, and those are some of the flaws that I’ve just noticed. Zane does a good job with the material that he has and some of the scenes he improvised that got true reactions out of people.
Overall Titanic is a masterpiece of a film. The effects are top notch and there is a reason why it’s one of the biggest films of all time. While the story is basic, you get some good performances out of the material. If you haven’t seen it yet or had no interest in before I suggest you do and once you get to the second half of the film, you will have a great time seeing all the effects and work that was put into it.
Verdict: Hit
Henry's Movie Reviews 
I agree with you generally, script, performances, effects, everything was perfect. But, even though I recognise it as a great film, I will not go so far as saying that it is a masterpiece. It goes out if it way to appeal to the masses with its manipulative heart-strings pulling. Twenty years on, in my eyes, it did not age well, and that is why I kind of see why some people now regard it as over-hyped.
LikeLike
You make a good point with the heart strings pull. It’s been twenty years and people are still talking about how Rose survived. While there is so much other good stuff in the film, that’s the part that legitimately hate about it.
The more I think about it being a masterpiece to me is the fact that to me it has a bit of everything for everyone and it’s a reason why people go to movies. It has drama, action, romance, effects, you name it. I also see your point of it not aging well.
Thanks for commenting! I really appreciate it!
LikeLiked by 1 person