REVIEW | Titanic 3D (2012)

The plot that film snobs (and those who have never given Titanic a chance) scoff at: Poor boy meets rich girl. On-board a luxurious and gigantic ship on its maiden voyage destined to sink. Celine Dion singing the theme song. Pretty sunsets. Heartthrob of the '90s Leonardo DiCaprio yelling, "I'm the king of the world! Wohooo!" A love story so cliche it hurts. 

But why did 95 percent of the world fall in love with Titanic when it premiered in 1997? And people never asking "Have you seen Titanic?" but "How many times have you seen Titanic?"  And why is it that, today, it is still one of our most favorite movies of all time? 

It's the way James Cameron told the story.

Fifteen years later, re-released in 3D on the big screen to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the sailing of the RMS Titanic on April 10th, you ask, How is the movie different today on the big screen? And in 3D? Do not expect to feel as if you're drowning, nor expect to duck when Grandma Rose throws into the bottomless sea the "Heart of the Ocean" with a small yelp. But the movie was cleanly converted into 3D, clear and crisp. You can almost wade through the icy, bottomless North Atlantic Ocean, Jack or Rose's face so close to you, and you can almost touch the handrails of the ship as it tilts to its horrific fate.

The 3D has minimal effect, but it doesn't bother you because it's the power of the story that will once again sweep you off your feet. Yes, Titanic is still perfect. It doesn't matter if you now realize how cheesy all the lines are that you find yourself chuckling inside the movie house. But no matter how corny the lines are, they are the lines that you know by heart and are fond of. And besides, the movie's beauty is not in the words, but in the story itself. Cameron may not be a writer, but he's a darn good visual storyteller.

Watching it again on the big screen more than a decade later, you realize once again why this movie has earned a deep spot in your heart and why it bagged 11 Oscar awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Cameron used a fantastic real-life tragedy as backdrop of a simple love story. He chose the kind of film score where a single note already evokes a multitude of emotions, intensifying the story's sense of drama, romance, and tragedy. And he inserted the music in appropriate scenes, the timing so perfect that you are rendered speechless or in tears. Cameron's genius clearly lies in his precision; he is a master manipulator of emotions, gifted with the tools to dictate our emotions through a motion picture.

Titanic was and still is a cinematic masterpiece. Fifteen years later, you will find yourself still rooting for the underdog (DiCaprio), still amazed and heartbroken by the forensic analysis of the tragedy, still wiping away tears as Jack kisses Rose while scolding her in a cracked voice, "You're so stupid, Rose! Why'd you do that? Huh? You're so stupid!" and still watching with shocked silence as the Titanic sinks with a heartbreaking and frightening knowledge that it happened in real life... more than a thousand souls drowning and freezing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Yes, the magic is still there.

Are you ready to go back to Titanic?

Watch this 2012 trailer and tell me if you're not yet convinced to see it on the big screen for the nth time...and for the first time in 3D:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Showing in Philippine Cinemas on April 7, 2012