Saturday, April 07, 2012

Review: Titanic 3D

Last Tuesday (April 3, 2012) I attended the Press Screening of Titanic 3D at Glorietta 4, Cinema 6. Thanks to Pinoyexchange and 20th Century Fox Philippines. You can also read this review at Official Pinoyexchange Reviews



Titanic was not just a movie but a massive pop culture event. It was so huge that it was inevitable that it will receive a lot of backlash soon after. But 14 years has passed since Titanic made a huge splash in the worldwide box office and with the 100th anniversary of Titanic setting sail on April 10 and the consequent tragedy that followed on April 15, now is a great time to revisit one of the most unforgettable movies of all time via Titanic 3D.

I’m sure you’re already familiar with the story but to give you a refresher, Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) are passengers from different walks of life who meet and fall in love on the ill-fated steam ship. The film won a record-tying 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for James Cameron. It became the highest-grossing movie of all time, making a $1.8 billion worldwide, a record it kept until Cameron’s very own Avatar beat it in 2010. In the Philippines, the movie earned $4.8 million in 1998, which would likely translate around 150-180 million pesos, also a record setter back in the day especially for a movie that ran for over 3 hours.

Titanic returns to theaters on April 7 and now with the added 3D effect. The 3D conversion is technically polished which you would expect from someone as detail-oriented as Cameron. I like the shots that involve water as it brought more life to those moments especially the underwater scenes in which the 3D was effectively utilized. What I like the most about the 3D conversion in the movie is that it was not headache-inducing as the other 3D movies have been and the quality of the images remained solid and most importantly not darker.

This was my first time to see Titanic in a theater as during its initial release I was too young to see it (my parents thought I couldn’t handle such a long movie with frightening images). I saw the movie only once on VHS and some parts of it during one of its many TV telecasts. But I haven’t seen the movie for almost a decade until today. And I’m amazed how the movie held up over time and that seeing it again was such a wonderful moviegoing experience. Some people say that the love story between Rose and Jack is too cheesy but the chemistry between Winslet and DiCaprio is so intense and passionate that you really just can’t help but fall for it. One of my realizations upon seeing this movie again was the strong performance of the late Gloria Stuart as the older Kate. I didn’t notice her performance back then but now I appreciate how emotionally affecting her scenes were.

I still had goosebumps when the ship started sinking. I was overwhelmed during those scenes and I can definitely say that those sequences are best seen and experience on the big screen. The sheer difficulty of what Cameron and his team pulled off during those scenes is simply remarkable and is worth watching over and over again. Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” was so overplayed that every time I listen to the radio and the song is on I change the stations immediately but hearing it again as the credits roll on made me appreciate how strong the song is in the context of the film. Likewise, listening to the score on a good theater sound system made me understand how integral the score of this movie is as it sets the mood and will make you feel how epic this film truly is.

Much has been said about the success of Titanic but all I can say that the film is timeless. It remains as one of the most universally appealing film of our generation. If you haven’t seen the movie in a theater then go see it because it really is different watching this movie on a large screen format. The same can be said to those people who’ve already seen it before (and perhaps multiple times), and while the movie is easily accessible, nothing can compare to the experience of watching it in a theater. The added 3D effect is good and probably the best output a conversion of a movie can see. Ultimately though it didn’t really add that much overall to the movie as Titanic is strong enough on its own that even without the added 3D effect, it is still worth revisiting on the big screen. 10 / 10

Titanic sails back into Philippine Theaters today (April 7, 2012)

2 comments:

jp said...

Jecoup, I've always appreciated how you write reviews: it gives enough information and insight without spoiling anything. But this time, you were very careless!

Why'd you have to mention that the Titanic would sink? I was actually hoping this version has an alternate ending of some sort, and now you've crushed that hope into pieces!

Kidding aside, it's another well-written review, Jecoup. I enjoyed reading it. Keep up the good job! :)

forg/jecoup said...

Sorry for the spoiler JP lol

Thanks for the compliment :)