Three hours of movie, three minutes of plot.

Rating: 5/10 (11 July 2001)

A $200m+ budget, 2000+ passengers on the Titanic, 3 hours plus of film, and what do we get for it? Two - count 'em, two! - fictitious stock romantic characters (three if you're feeling generous and count Cal), plus a few walk-ons. Even the Titanic itself isn't much more than an extra; another writer/director could have told the same story on a real ship in half the time at a hundredth of the cost. It's all told as a flash-back, so there are no surprises in the 'plot', and I spent most of the last twenty minutes muttering, "Just hurry up and die, will you?"
I'm not saying it's a bad film; it's merely overlong and overrated. There are some very good moments, especially after the Titanic begins sinking and we get to meet some other characters: good special effects, generally good performances (I particularly liked David Warner), a good musical score, and wonderful sets. I suspect, though, that eventually someone will make a tighter, more interesting film set on the Titanic, and this one will sink without trace.