Titanic and Avatar: Two Films Hated Because of "Simple" Plots

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2013)

Titanic and Avatar are very different. One is about a forbidden love aboard a doomed ship. The other is about humans trying to exploit an alien race in order to profit. Yet both have something very similar in common: they are criticized for having unoriginal stories.
Titanic is a love story about a doomed couple. People complain that it's been done before (Romeo and Juliet) and that it's boring. They only enjoy the second half which consists of everyone dying. I'm here to say that is an unfair call.
THE GOOD
There's nothing wrong with an unoriginal story, as long as the execution is good. After all, we're running out of original stories. Even Shakespeare had a tendency to take other people's stories. He just told them really well.
So, is Titanic well executed? yes, on the most part. While it does have it's flaws, I think the bulk of the film is amazing. It's well paced, the characters are well-developed, the cinematography is awe-inspiring, and the conflict is one that continues to exist today (people being forced into loveless relationships due to different pressures).
Like Romeo and Juliet, this film is a classic.
THE BAD
This is a nitpick. Cameron decided to make the film as if an older Rose is telling a captain the story via flashback. That's fine and it works well the entire film. But the ending is just rushed and not much of a lesson like ti should have been.
The Captain of the submarine crew should have disposed of the Heart of the Ocean, not Rose. That way it would show Rose's lesson got through to someone. Why even introduce the Captain and a conflict if they're just going to be forgotten at the end of the film.
Once again, a nitpick, but the movie is three hours. Why is the ending so rushed? I just wished they could have gave the future part of the film a more satisfying ending.
VERDICT
Great film, 9/10, see it! Whether you'll like it or hate it, this is one of the four essentials of the 90's, along with Pulp Fiction, Terminator 2, and Forrest Gump.