Titanic Review
by Jason Overbeck (root-for-badguys AT juno DOT com)April 17th, 1998
TITANIC
*** of **** grade of B-
Titanic is a good film that was catipulted into becoming a great, best picture winning film. The film which cost 200+ million dollars came along and blinded critics and audiences alike into being overcome with gitty delight that a smart action film can be made. It was great, Titanic T-Shirts, posters, soundtracks, calenders, documentaries, truth-telling interviews became the rage. Divorce yourself from that as you watch the movie and you may feel the uneven film that you have on your hands.
This is an emotional epic of romance and love on a doomed ship. You know that one character survived and you hope with all your heart that there are two. You might cry in Titanic. You will watch many scenes with your heart warming inside of you. Meanwhile Jim (Egocentric of the World) Cameron is spitting in your face with stupid characters made of cardboard, lame dialogue that sits on screen begging for you to laugh it down and moral righteousness. You sit back and notice the great love story of Jack and Rose and find it romantic escapism because Rose's FIANCEE is such a jerk. Why is he presented that way?
If he was presented as a nice but weak man the story would have had more dimintion to it. Another key problem is Jack's character. He is presented as a character with no past or future, but instead a rebellious object for her to fall in love with, his character is cardboard. What do You learn about him? And he is the center piece of the film.
The relationship is also not that well developed compared to better films. Look at this years BOOGIE NIGHTS or CHASING AMY and you will notice that both have real emotions, not REEL ones. It is more refreshing to have a film that has character relationships mean something. The end scene of Titanic is a tear jerker but it could have been more straining if the characters were aloud to be the people not the cardboard statue of them.
All this may sound very negative but you will notice that I give the film a positive review. Some critics have called the Titanic screenplay a horrible one. I don't agree. The characters and dialogue is bad and distracting in some scenes but the film is very touching and easy to like , if not love. Some scenes are so good that you feel as though you would like to forgive the other bad moments to give the event the credit it deserves. I am giving the review a mild recomendation, for the three that haven't seen it, and I am writing this not just as a review but a registered argument against the film that shouldn't have even been nominated for best picture. By the way see LA CONFIDENTIAL instead. It is more heart warming to see a great film than a good one!
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