Titanic: No Waterlogged Puns Here -- This Movie Is Great

Reviewed by Vickie, Cinema Geek

Vick's Rating:

= There's two hours of my life I'll never see again. Is it too late to ask for my money back?
= They could have done SO much better. Wait for the video.
= Not bad at all. Some solid work.
= Wow! I'm very impressed. I might go see this one again.
= For the love of all that is good and kind in the world, what an amazing movie!!!

Directed by James Cameron

Cast (in credits order):
Leonardo DiCaprio...Jack Dawson
Kate Winslet...Rose DeWitt Bukater
Billy Zane...Cal Hockley
Kathy Bates....Molly Brown
Frances Fisher....Ruth DeWitt Bukater
Gloria Stuart....Old Rose
Bill Paxton....Brock Lovett

"Titanic" isn't just a movie, it's an experience.

By now, everyone and their cousin has heard the stories of the hugely inflated budget, the numerous production setbacks and the oft-delayed release date. But all the hoopla aside, "Titanic" is an absolutely breathtaking film that is worth every cent spent on it.

Directed by James Cameron, the film recounts the tragic sinking of the "unsinkable" grand ship in April of 1912 and tells the story through the eyes of a pair of young lovers. The film begins in present day, as an underwater salvage team led by Bill Paxton ("Twister") pokes around the wreckage of the Titanic looking for a precious blue diamond. They find, instead, a drawing of a young woman wearing the gem in question and, after their discovery is broadcast on the news, are contacted by an elderly woman (Gloria Stuart) claiming to be the subject of the portrait. That, in turn, begins the trip back to the past as she tells her story to the eager crew.

In 1912, Rose (Kate Winslet) is a young woman struggling with the constraints of her upper class background. She's engaged to Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), a wealthy brute of a man who repeatedly professes his love for her despite actions that would indicate otherwise. Rose is unhappy.

At the other end of the class spectrum is Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio). He's a young man who lives by his wits, gleefully travelling the world and making his way by drawing portraits and winning card games. (His passage on the Titanic is secured by a full house.) He's also the sort of charming rogue who can, and does, win Rose's heart by exposing her to the lives of the not-so-rich and nowhere-near-famous. Of course, as their romance blossoms, Cal is none too pleased and sets out to keep the lovers apart--not so much because he truly loves Rose but because, as a perpetual winner, he can't stand to lose her to another man.

Oh, and then there's the small matter of that infamous iceberg.

Words will not do justice to the impact of "Titanic"--the movie, not the ship. From the lavish sets to the dazzling special effects and sheer magnitude of the production, all aspects of this moviemaking endeavor come together perfectly. Not once do you doubt that the characters are indeed aboard the actual ship, that their lives hang in the balance and, as it happened, that more than half of them will perish before the closing credits. Suspension of disbelief is almost unnecessary since the film completely sucks you in and it isn't until the lights come back up in the theater that you realize it was "just a movie."

Even though it runs a whopping three hours and fifteen minutes, the story could easily have gone on for another hour. I still would have been locked in my seat, riveted to the screen.

The cast is, in a word, superb. Leonardo DiCaprio will steal the hearts of men and women, young and old alike, and is utterly endearing as the unpolished young man thrust into the lives of the well-to-do. Kate Winslet is stunning as the conflicted Rose, who desperately wants to follow her heart but is held back by the demands of her family and social status. The chemistry between these two is electric and their onscreen romance is the kind that makes audiences practically writhe in their seats waiting for that first kiss.

Even Billy Zane, who seems oddly out of place at the outset, is so devilishly Evil--with a capital "e"--that he's one of the few characters viewers hope will go down with the ship. In this case, though, that is a good thing. As the villian, he's marvelous.

For all its technical achievements and grand-scale wonder, the film is also surprisingly emotional. Janes Cameron has crafted a big budget event picture with a heart and a soul. Despite the fact that the audience knows the eventual outcome of the film--the ship sinks!--it's still heart-wrenching to actually watch it happen and no less painful, even with advance knowledge. There was sniffling and nose-blowing all around the theater throughout the last forty-five minutes of the film and when the lights came up most people (even the men!) were still wiping away tears. Watching the audience file out, in silence for the most part, was like watching a group of battle-scarred soldiers returning from war and I couldn't help but feel like we'd all bonded somehow, having gone through this cataclysmic event together and survived.

I really don't know what else to say about "Titanic" to convey how wonderful it is. It's everything you've heard it is and more. It is one of the finest films I have seen in a long, long time and for me, I can offer no higher praise than that. Run, don't walk, to see this film.

Vick's Video Picks

"Titanic" is not the first time director James Cameron has ventured into uncharted waters with a big budget movie set in or around the ocean. One of my all-time favorites is the 1989 sci-fi actioner "The Abyss." Set in an underwater drilling station, the film follows a ragtag crew (there they are again!) who may or may not be having close encounters with a benign alien species while working to recover a not-so-benign nuclear warhead from a sunken submarine. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is excellent as the tough-as-nails engineer who first sees the beings from another world, and Ed Harris is solid as her put-upon husband who heads up the crew until her arrival shifts the balance of power. Packed with groundbreaking special effects, airtight action sequences and white-knuckle suspense, the film has a weak-ish ending but is still incredibly satisfying and a nice companion piece to Cameron's current blockbuster.

Vickie, a self-confessed movie addict, has spent the last few years working at an entertainment magazine in Canada. When she's not toiling away at her computer in the office, she's toiling away at her computer at home-- hacking away at unfinished screenplays and planning her acceptance speech for the Academy Awards.