Mike's Musings: Titanic vs Avatar
James Cameron is a master storyteller. From "True Lies" to "Titanic" and "Avatar," Cameron knows how to involve an audience and stage an action scene for maximum effect. But more importantly, he knows how to create characters that everyone can relate to and care about. Those two qualities are the reasons why his last two films have broken box office records.
Now that I've seen both of them within a day of each other on the big screen (a local theater had a showing of "Avatar" on the mega screen in 3D), which is the optimal medium to view both of them, I started wondering which was the stronger film. They're both excellent films, and I have no reservations about giving them both 4/4 ratings. Both films are rousing experiences with great emotional highs and lows, and are superbly told with compelling characters and stories.
When it comes to action, "Avatar" is the way to go. That's not to say that "Titanic" lacks breathtaking sequences of drama and destruction (it has them), but "Avatar" is an epic sci-fi war movie. The final battle at the end is jaw-dropping. The battle is bigger than big and an expertly crafted spectacle.
"Titanic," on the other hand, is an altogether different movie. Cameron himself joked that it was his "190 million dollar chick flick." He has a point. The film is a romance set against an epic tragedy. It has love, sex and a lot of disaster movie action. We love the characters and gasp at the magnitude of the tragedy.
So which is the stronger film? It's hard to say, but I'd have to go with "Titanic." "Avatar" was a formula movie done very well, and a showcase for the power of 3D (when effort is actually put into it). Yet while we were involved in the story, that's all the movie was. A story, one that we had been told before. "Dances with Wolves." "The Last Samurai." They're all variations on the same theme. The characters are the archetypes that the film requires. It is a rousing success mainly because of the skill with which Cameron tells it.
"Titanic," on the other hand, is a much more ambitious movie. It seeks to tell the story of the "unsinkable" ship (that sunk) and providing a tour of it while presenting an array of real-life and fictional characters...all while concentrating on a romance between two three-dimensional characters. It's a lot of stuff two weave into a compelling movie, even at 3 hours long. But Cameron does it almost flawlessly (Jack and Rose shout each other's names far too much, especially during the final sequence). "Titanic" succeeds not just because of the special effects, but his careful crafting of two characters that we end up caring about much more than what we see. Through all the melodrama and destruction, our attention to Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt-Bukater never falters.
This is just my opinion. I'm sure that there are people who prefer "Avatar" to "Titanic," and I wouldn't be one to blame them. I also know a few people who can't stand either one. I find that hard to accept, but to each their own (Wes Anderson has a sizable and vocal fanbase, and everyone who has read my review of "The Royal Tenenbaums" knows my thoughts on him). I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions, so feel free to comment. Please explain why though...just reading "Titanic sucks" is kind of dull, really.
Now that I've seen both of them within a day of each other on the big screen (a local theater had a showing of "Avatar" on the mega screen in 3D), which is the optimal medium to view both of them, I started wondering which was the stronger film. They're both excellent films, and I have no reservations about giving them both 4/4 ratings. Both films are rousing experiences with great emotional highs and lows, and are superbly told with compelling characters and stories.
When it comes to action, "Avatar" is the way to go. That's not to say that "Titanic" lacks breathtaking sequences of drama and destruction (it has them), but "Avatar" is an epic sci-fi war movie. The final battle at the end is jaw-dropping. The battle is bigger than big and an expertly crafted spectacle.
"Titanic," on the other hand, is an altogether different movie. Cameron himself joked that it was his "190 million dollar chick flick." He has a point. The film is a romance set against an epic tragedy. It has love, sex and a lot of disaster movie action. We love the characters and gasp at the magnitude of the tragedy.
So which is the stronger film? It's hard to say, but I'd have to go with "Titanic." "Avatar" was a formula movie done very well, and a showcase for the power of 3D (when effort is actually put into it). Yet while we were involved in the story, that's all the movie was. A story, one that we had been told before. "Dances with Wolves." "The Last Samurai." They're all variations on the same theme. The characters are the archetypes that the film requires. It is a rousing success mainly because of the skill with which Cameron tells it.
"Titanic," on the other hand, is a much more ambitious movie. It seeks to tell the story of the "unsinkable" ship (that sunk) and providing a tour of it while presenting an array of real-life and fictional characters...all while concentrating on a romance between two three-dimensional characters. It's a lot of stuff two weave into a compelling movie, even at 3 hours long. But Cameron does it almost flawlessly (Jack and Rose shout each other's names far too much, especially during the final sequence). "Titanic" succeeds not just because of the special effects, but his careful crafting of two characters that we end up caring about much more than what we see. Through all the melodrama and destruction, our attention to Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt-Bukater never falters.
This is just my opinion. I'm sure that there are people who prefer "Avatar" to "Titanic," and I wouldn't be one to blame them. I also know a few people who can't stand either one. I find that hard to accept, but to each their own (Wes Anderson has a sizable and vocal fanbase, and everyone who has read my review of "The Royal Tenenbaums" knows my thoughts on him). I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions, so feel free to comment. Please explain why though...just reading "Titanic sucks" is kind of dull, really.
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