Much has been said about it's three-hour and fifteen-minute running time. I assure you, the time flies by, and unless you have to pee really badly, you won't look at your watch even once. Since the film is sorta split in half, it keeps you interested. While the first half tells the beautiful (though not very original) story of two people who meet and fall in love. The second continues that story as the ship is sinking... utilizing some of the best visual effects ever put to film.
There is no doubt that many will see the film just to see the ship sink, but they will surely get caught up in the love story. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet do excellent work, making it impossible to just sit and wait for the sinking. They make these characters impossible to dislike, and they have onscreen chemistry that's one of the best I've ever seen.
Most critics seem to think that Billy Zane's acting (as Winslet's rich fiancee) was a bit too over the top. I personally think that it was well-suited for the role. It bordered on cartoony, but I thought it was fine. Kathy Bates as ("the unsinkable") Molly Brown was great, but I think she shoulda had more screen time.
There are a couple of flaws in the movie. There were several lines of dialogue that were way too corny (if you saw the movie trailer, you heard some of them already), and Billy Zane's last desperate attempt to get back at his fiancee and her new lover was totally unnecessary (it was ALSO shown during the movie trailer). Still, the rest of the movie was so phenomenal that these flaws can be easily dismissed. Sorta like that scene in "The Godfather" where "Sonny Corleone" is beating up his brother-in-law, and there's that punch that's WAY off. It's an obvious miss, but the rest of the film (as well as that scene as a whole) is so great, the minor flaw is accepted and forgotten.
But I digress.
James Cameron
wrote, produced, directed, and even edited this movie. This is definitely
his movie, HE'S the star. He has proven to be one of the best directors
alive, and he should be nominated for every award a director can be nominated
for this year. Then he should win 'em all. This must have been one of the
most difficult films anyone can make, and he did it wonderfully. The sinking
of the ship has some of the most awesome images I've ever seen, and it'll
be a while before I see anything that comes close. When I do, it'll probably
be another James Cameron movie.