Strangely Universal

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2020)

Watched this movie for a second time recently with my 17-year-old son. He actually suggested the viewing, he heard about the movie and was curious. Rarely have I had a better entertainment experience with a family member.
Titanic is just simply awesome, a movie that you just sit back and marvel at. Photography, special effects, costumes, production are just incredible, with a real feel of authentic time travel back to 1912. Musical score also sweeping and emotional, of course with Celine Dion's favorite song and a wonderful orchestral sweep.
A little more controversial is the screenplay and love story, which some commentators have portrayed as trite and even amateurish. What saves this movie, and in fact turns it into an instant classic, is that the characters are much more universal than they appear at first glance, and really have a great chemistry. Leonardo Di Caprio's Jack is an underdog orphan that has suffered great personal hardship, Kate Winslet's Rose is a young woman of great spirit completely stifled by her family and her society. You really can't help but root for them, and the chemistry between the two is absolutely fantastic. Put this story in the midst of one of the great human tragedies of the 20th century, and at the very least you have a very potent formula, even if it is not executed perfectly at every turn. Often my son and I were laughing at some of the cliches in the midst of being completely absorbed in the unfolding drama.
If you love movies, you will love Titanic, it is that simple. It is an emotional, gorgeous, romantic, sexy, awesome spectacle of a movie.