The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later. 

What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a lifeboat on the Titanic more than once. Especially without putting someone else in that spot. People say that Titanic is incredibly romantic and a love story for the ages. They lie. The love story is the worst thing about the movie. If we had cut out the very stupid couple we could have trimmed the movie down to a very reasonable, extremely tragic, 1 hour movie. I am convinced that the love story was added to take the edge off the extremely disturbing tragedy of the sinking ship. And another thing. If you were going to start an affair because you do not love your fiance, the best time to do it would not be on a seven day boat journey in cramped quarters under extreme levels of scrutiny because of the cramped quarters and all stuck on a boat thing. And if you did decide to start an affair in these less than ideal circumstances, I find it entirely improbable that 4 days into the journey you would repeatedly leave a lifeboat and return to the sinking ship to stay with your new friend who you have known less than 96 hours. Also, I don't care how loyal and bodyguard/servant you are, surely in the midst of a 3 hour crisis in which you know full well the ship you are on is sinking you would have better uses of your time than attempting to execute your employer's vengeance on essentially a noone who will clearly not make it off the boat. You could, for example, try to get your employer safely off the boat, possibly even yourself, this seems much more important for a bodyguard guy to be doing. Not the most important question, but how did the painting survive underwater for 84 years? 

Who should watch this? People questioning the need for lifeboats or life vests on ships.

Would I watch it again? No