Excellent, epic drama

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2003)

There is no doubt that James Cameron is capable of putting out fantastic cinema. The man just seems to have a feel for what will pull on the emotions and his eye for scene setting has no equal. Some spoilers ahead.
I recently re-watched this on video, on a small TV, and it still blew me away. Action fans will, of course, be disappointed. Perhaps this even qualifies as a chick-flick. I don't know, and don't care. It's just a great movie and never drags even at over three hours.
I've tried hard to find niggles, to be impartial, but the only things I can point to are a couple of instances where the special effects were bad (at the beginning, where the bow of the sunken Titanic looks exactly like what it is....a model) and later where Jack and Rose are on the the foredeck and the camera is looking back toward the superstructure (where the scenery looks like the backdrop from a school play). Other than these, the story and effects are fantastic and enhance the film rather than overpowering it.
I always cry at the end, with the old lady's scenes of returning to the ship. This is one of a very few movies that do make me cry. For that reason it will always be a favourite.