Unjustly Reviled

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2002)

While I am sure that many of the negative reviews this movie has received are sincerely meant, I can't resist adding that I think Titanic has suffered, more or less unfairly, from its tremendous box-office success. It is always hard to like a winner, and this makes it difficult to give this film, both over-rated by some and under-rated by others, a fair assessment. I can only say that I feel that for all its obvious shortcomings, Titanic is an exceptional film. At roughly three-hours of running time, the movie never feels long and is never dull. It is both funny and genuinely moving by turns. Whether intentionally or not, James Cameron has endowed the characters and situations in this film with a simplicity and a monumental resonance worthy of a great Nineteenth-century melodrama. While it is not one of the greatest films of all time, Titanic is nevertheless an magnificent production well worth repeated viewings.