Not all that bad....

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2004)

This seems to be one of the movies that people either loath or adore. The first time I saw it, I marveled at the technical display but found the main plot curiously uninvolving. This is despite a good performance by Kate Winslett and DiCaprio as well - he has been very good in roles before he became a superstar, and he will again. As good as they were, I just did not believe in their story.
But in fact, even though the romance between Jack and Rose feels false and anachronistic to me, I have come to appreciate, if nothing else, the importance of having that type of story to command our attention while the SPOILER ALERT boat sinks. If you have the chance to watch Night to Remember, you'll see what I mean; the last half of that movie seems to be nothing more than men nobly rfusing to get on lifeboats and women weepingly not wanting to leave them. Rose and Jack at least give us something to concentrate on while the thing is going down.
So, give this a 4 of 5 primarily for the technical aspects, and also for answering the question, whatever happened to the guy who played Jesus in Godspell. Answer: he's building boats even God cannot sink.