Review: Titanic 3D (2012)

April 11, 2012 Reviews 1 Comments

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane
Director: James Cameron
Country: USA
Genre: Adventure | Drama | History | Romance
Official Trailer: Here

The title Titanic is appropriate for such a massive cultural success as the film is. Before the film opened, most press had doomed it to be a massive failure. It was the most expensive movie ever made, and a significant departure for sci-fi action master James Cameron, a callback to the golden age of Hollywood epics. People inside and outside the industry had every right to be nervous about the film’s prospects. But then something incredible happened. It became the single biggest word-of-mouth success in history. It didn’t break any opening weekend records, but went on to be a box office triumph that lasted for nearly a half a year, in which time it swept the Oscars, winning eleven total, and becoming the highest grossing film of all time, only to be surpassed twelve years later by Cameron’s own follow-up, Avatar.

It didn’t break any opening weekend records, but went on to be a box office triumph that lasted for nearly a half a year, in which time it swept the Oscars, winning eleven total, and becoming the highest grossing film of all time, only to be surpassed twelve years later by Cameron’s own follow-up, Avatar.

So what made the film such a success? At three hours and fifteen minutes long, it’s certainly no breezy film to sit through, not to mention how the runtime limits the number of screenings per day any given movie theatre can hold. And yet, its powerful tale of doomed lovers aboard the “unsinkable ship” moved viewers across the world in such a universal way that they flocked out to see the film not just once, twice, or three times, but often as many as ten times in theatres. I’ve often seen a lot of my fellow critics accusing the film of being successful solely on the backs of the teenage girls of the time. There’s simply no way this could be true. Teenage girls can drive a film to box office success, as the Twilight films have proven, but they are often front-loaded successes, having massive opening weekends and then deflating considerably in the weeks following. But Titanic pressed on week after week, and not just here in the U.S., but the entire world over. There is something to be said for a film and its director when it can reach across such a universal audience.

So the burning question now is whether or not the film holds up. Is it as powerful and universal as it was fifteen years ago? Getting a meticulous 3D post-conversion on the 100-year anniversary of the titular ship’s doomed maiden voyage, this was certainly on the minds of critics and audiences alike as they went to theatres to experience the film once again this weekend. Yes and no. In short, a lot of the film maintains that same accessible, brisk sense of epic storytelling that made it such a huge success. For the most part, it just works. Combining incredible spectacle with a tried and true formula of star-crossed lovers, it strikes the right balance between the two to have something for everyone.

…its powerful tale of doomed lovers aboard the “unsinkable ship” moved viewers across the world in such a universal way that they flocked out to see the film not just once, twice, or three times, but often as many as ten times in theatres.

Not everything holds up so well, however. Admittedly, I had not seen the film in a little over a decade, so I remembered very little of it, save for a few now-iconic shots and scenes. The script isn’t all that organic, and it shows in quite a few scenes. For example, after Jack and Rose’s initial meeting, the two are walking the deck of the ship, casually chatting and the conversation quickly turns into a typical argument fueled by sexual tension. You know the scene. You’ve seen it in every Katherine Hepburn and/or Cary Grant film. But in Titanic, it just doesn’t flow all that well. A combination of strained acting and awkward blocking, the direction can’t elevate things the way it does for most of the time. The transition between tone in the scene between breezy to tense to breezy and deeply romantic is jarring at best, cringe-worthy at worst. This would be forgivable if it weren’t an occurrence that happens several more times throughout the film, completely disrupting the flow and pacing, blasting the viewer back into the harsh reality that we’re witnessing a manipulative film, not an altogether believable one at times. The good news is that once the two lovers finally consummate their bond, the film kicks into high gear and never once lets up. If the first half or two-thirds of the film were a bit clunky, it’s the last hour or so that completely make up for it with masterful storytelling and spectacle. Even I can admit I got pretty choked up on a few occasions during the time the ship was sinking. Of note is the 3D conversion that James Cameron has been working on ever since completing Avatar. While a technically good post-conversion, it’s quite honestly negligible; seamless, but a bit shrug-worthy.

Titanic is a superlative achievement, no matter how you slice it. Whether it’s a timeless love story or empty spectacle to you, the film has long since earned its place in the nearly fifteen years since first hitting theatres. Me? I’m somewhere in the middle, finding myself moved by the awe-inspiring achievements of the film’s last hour, but well aware of the manipulative nature of it. Whether you saw Titanic ten times in theatres or have never seen it before, this theatrical re-release is well worth your time. A TV screen just doesn’t do it justice.

75/100 ~ GOOD. Titanic is a superlative achievement, no matter how you slice it. Whether it’s a timeless love story or empty spectacle to you, the film has long since earned its place in the nearly fifteen years since first hitting theatres.

By Kevin Ketchum

Austin Film Critic. I am a blogger, critic, and writer living in Austin, TX. I first became serious about film after seeing The Lord of the Rings trilogy in its original theatrical run between 2001 and 2003. Since then, film has become my life and there's no better job than writing about what I love.