Titanic 3D: A lavish overhaul for a flawed classic

I don’t know if I am qualified to review this film since I can honestly say I never saw it in theaters on its original run. So, I really have nothing to compare it to other than my memories of watching it on VHS. The whole 3D conversion thing is big amongst earlier blockbusters (see Disney) but has yet to yield a bona fide hit other than the Lion King, which was respectable. I can honestly say that here, the 3D is magnificent, and not just for the spectacle of the sinking ship.

I’m not going to bother with the plot or anything, if you don’t know it you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 years. I will extol the merits of seeing it on the big screen in 3D. What impressed me most were the close-ups of faces, every wrinkle, reflection and hair are given new dimension from the 3D. It’s a very personal experience. Images of the actual wreck become more eerie and magnificently hulking. Also, the interior shots of the ship before it sank are breathtaking. As the camera moves through hallways, staircases and atriums, there is a real sense of space and grandeur. It also lends becomes frightful during the sinking sequences where looking down a vastly deep corridor filling with water seems all but hopeless.

On the other hand, there were plenty of things the 3D couldn’t fix. The outdated special effects for one, or the atrocious dialogue both remain. The film is not great by any means and is truly a piece of manipulative popcorn fluff; but one thing can be said. James Cameron knows how to tell a story, and with his eye for stunning visuals, the 3D here not only improves the experience, but also leaves you wondering what he could have done had he been filming it in 3D from the start!

Final Consensus: 
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!! (for the 3D)
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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