Too much Kate and Leo, too little Titanic

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2012)

I know in advance this review is not going to be popular; but it is my honest opinion for what it's worth. This is not a review of the 3-D version.
The final hour of this movie is incredibly captivating; the effects are astonishing, the human drama endlessly gripping and the horror of the terrible tragedy deeply moving and powerful. Direction by James Cameron is impeccable, he thoroughly deserved his Oscar; the film looks wonderful and the music score is marvellous.
But is it really such a classic? I think not, personally. A Night To Remember may have dated effects-wise but it tells the story of The Titanic in a superior way to this movie. The big problem for me is the script; which for the most part I think is quite poor. Cameron lifts whole segments from A Night To Remember, inserts dialogue from the testimonies given during the enquiry into the cause of the disaster, and alters history in a way that must have been quite shocking to the descendants of those involved. Officer Murdoch, for instance. He did not shoot two passengers; nor is it very likely he committed suicide. Murdoch's decision to reverse the engines when the iceberg was spotted probably caused the disaster - Titantic would have missed it had the full ahead order been given; even a nose-on impact would not have sunk the ship. But there is no evidence whatsoever Murdoch, who distinguished himself in the aftermath of the accident, committed suicide. Just a few passenger rumours that one of the officers shot himself.
Kate and Leo. Nice acting from Kate, DiCaprio is simply too young for the man of the world artist. He has matured into a very fine actor, but the "romance" never convinces me for an instant. Far too much time is spent on it; with the result that the story of the Titanic is sort of shoe-horned into the movie in a series of brief sequences. The whole question of The Californian is omitted to give Kate and Leo more screen time, and The Carpathia barely appears. Lightoller's remarkable escape is hardly referenced: and here the brave but slightly misguided officer comes across as panicky and arrogant. Very unfair indeed.
The result is rather fake emotionalism and moonshine, rather like Avatar, in fact, although admittedly Titanic is a better movie.
Some of the acting in this movie is also very poor. Billy Zane is quite awful as Cal. He gives a performance that would do Dick Dastardly proud. All he really needed was a few moustache twirls and evil titters. One-dimensional character; one dimensional acting. Excellent actors like Kathy Bates, Bernard Hill and David Warner are wasted in this movie.
The film has much to commend it but my honest assessment is that it also has a lot of flaws. Time for you to mark me down! :)