Spectacular, but with lots of flaws

Rating: 4/10 (4 July 2008)

After seeing this movie years ago at the cinema I thought it was one of the worst movies of all time (as far as major studio pictures go). Thinking about it before posting up a review here, maybe I was a bit too harsh.
In short, this story is a fictional tale of two star-crossed lovers on board a real life, famous ship (the "Titanic") that sank, killing a great percentage of its passengers and crew (um, sorry if that is a spoiler, but sheesh, you SHOULD know that!).
When I am feeling particularly unkind about this film, some of my criticisms are: only director James Cameron could look at the story of the Titanic and think "Hmmm. That story could make a good movie...IF ONLY IT HAD MORE DRAMA!". Yeah, sinking ship, hundreds dead, needs MORE drama!
Another peeve about this movie is how Cameron can't resist manipulating our sympathies to characters by resorting to melodrama and crudely drawn characters who we find easy to hate, in order to have us rooting for other characters. E.g. Billy Zane's character of Hockley. Didn't quite throw a chihuahua into the ice-cold ocean, but nasty enough to do everything short of this. Really, a more sophisticated script could have made him a figure deserving of our sympathy too.
A minor peeve is how one of those star crossed lovers, Kate Winslet's Rose, is quite prescient and insightful about the ship's situation...just didn't seem very plausible for one so young and unschooled in such matters.
Despite thinking this movie one of the all time stinkers (for a major studio release) I did, at the time, think it a master-stroke to have the two star-crossed lovers at the centre of this tale (Kate Winslet's "Rose" and Leonardo DiCaprio's "Jack"). It is just a brilliant device in order to hook you and reel you into this great historical drama/tragedy. Again, it was a great pity that Cameron chose not to make a victim of people like Hockley as well, instead of demonising him. And it's not as if Cameron didn't have alternatives in his own script. For instance, Jack's sketching of Rose could have provided a more believable foundation on which to base a relationship on instead of the hysterical melodrama Cameron resorts to to get them together.
Perhaps the time-frame of the sinking made melodrama necessary.Truly spectacular but deserved Razzies for things like script and direction.
Despite my criticisms, when Titanic eventually hits the ice-berg, the movie is an absolute thrill ride and quite exhilarating.
P.S. must put in a word for the great Australian song by Flash and the Pan "Down among the dead men". It's not in this movie (Celine Dion does the theme song), but the Flash and the Pan song is actually about the Titanic and is a brilliant pop song...beautiful too. Look it up on You Tube.