Film Review With Sam Larner

Titanic

Firstly, this review was requested by a friend, so if you have any other requests I'll be able to try and fulfil them as long, obviously, as I've seen the film.

Titanic, is a 1997 film which basically the entire world has seen. It was the highest grossing film of all time until Avatar came along. However due to Avatar being in 3D it cost more to see it so Titanic is still the most watched film in cinemas of all time. It features an all star cast including Di Caprio, Winslett, Bernard Hill and Victor Garber (who played Jesus in Godspell).

Firstly this is what is wrong with Titanic. The acting is very wooden at times especially towards the end. It is also very long and I would suggest overly long especially in the central segment. Also it's playing to the Oscar crowd which seems a bit cynical especially when it appears that all you have to do to get an Oscar is make people cry.

However Titanic is one of very few films that can have so many flaws and yet still be an excellent film. It is over 3 hours long yet it keeps my attention for that length of time. It is also one of few films that create an excitement whenever they're on and are basically liked by everyone who's seen it. I stand by my comments on the poor acting but to be honest it doesn't really take away from what is a brilliant film. The number of memorable parts in the film which have affected society is amazing. It is now impossible to go to the front of a ferry and not pretend to be Rose with your arms spread out. It also offers good survival advice, when you're shipwrecked grab hold of a large fancy wooden door and wait for a Welshman in a boat, all invaluable advice.

When you ask people what the best films of their generation where you will have people born in the 60's saying that they had the best Bond films, then people from the 70's can say that had the Star Wars franchise before it turned pants. The 80's had great films like ET, Indiana Jones and Rain Man, but for us 90's kids we had Terminator, Die Hard, Independence Day, The Lion King, Jurassic Park, Braveheart and Titanic. These aren't just popular films, these are films that have changed culture. Each of those films has been parodied in Family Guy, that is what the 90's gave us, they might not have been great films but they certainly made an impact.

So the Titanic isn't a great film, it's an amazing experience. So thank you James Cameron but you can leave it at that.

Next week will be a little different, instead of reviews I'll be giving the top 10 best movie quotes and the top 10 worst. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.