Titanic 3D

In case you are thinking this is just a cheap cash-in, then here’s a thought for you: if George Lucas reformats Star Wars on a decennial basis, why shouldn’t James Cameron be allowed to re-release a 3D version of the film that earned him a shipload (as a bet, this review will try cram in as many nautical puns as possible) of Oscars? After all, like the afore-mentioned saga, this is the kind of movie that was made to be watched on the big screen.

So how does Titanic measure up fifteen years after its original release? Well, it is as touching and visually immersive (pun n°2) an experience as it was back in 1997, but the 3D conversion reveals a handful of CGI shots that now look surprisingly outdated. In a post Avatar world, even a mildly distracted viewer will notice the soulless digital stand-ins patrolling the ship’s deck in that majestic shot of the ship venturing into the Atlantic Ocean. But this is hardly a gripe, just a mere observation on how much technology has matured over time.

What 3D can’t tarnish is the central romance steering (pun n°3) this epic drama. To this day Jack and Rose are still one of the most amiable screen couples of all time and it’s not hard to see why. Their youthful features (DiCaprio and Winslet were only 22 and 21 at the time of filming) made them a pairing teenagers could idolize and look up to back in the late ‘90s – remember Leo mania? – while older viewers embraced the film’s old-fashioned romanticism that harked back to Hollywood’s Golden Age. The whole “rich girl falls for poor boy” scenario is admittedly not the most original, but given the period and location setting it does feel thematically appropriate.

One thing a lot of people forget however is that, after what feels like an hour and a half of Love Boat on a bigger budget, Titanic’s second half makes a cracking good action flick. With Cameron at the helm (pun n°4), floods make a chilling substitute for explosions and towering funnels come crashing down on passengers thrashing about in the cold Atlantic waters like a god’s clenched fist. There’s even a shoot-out and a slow motion running sequence.

The director also makes ingenious use of the second act to showcase his leading lady’s transition from helpless upper class brat to feisty heroine – the shot of a drenched Rose wielding an axe, as she bravely trudges through the ship’s flooded narrow corridors is as iconic an image for on-screen feminism as the sight of Ripley in a mechanical exoskeleton taking on the Alien Queen.    

Titanic may still be a three hour chick flick to which everybody already knows the ending, but it is also a film with hidden layers and of many depths (aaand pun°5). If you were one of the millions that fell in love with Jack and Rose back in 1997, now’s a good time to fall for them all over again.

4/5