Pirates: AWE
I think Jon Stewart sums up my feelings of this movie nicely.
First things first: the movie was TOO DAMN LONG. So much could have been cut out while leaving the plot in tact. The whole Jack-going-crazy sequences could have been chopped (they weren't even that funny people), plus a great deal of the fighting scenes were useless. Now, I do like my battles, but it was a little much.
On another note, I think I may have to see the movie atleast once more (probably a billion more times) to fully understand just what the funk happened in it. First Jack was evil, then Barbossa, then Will, then Jack again, then Sao Feng, then Will, then Jack, then Will, etc etc. While well written (or written while on crack...I can't really tell), it's damn annoying.
Did James *really* have to die? Ok, sure, I can't see him actually fighting on the pirate's side (hardcore navyboy afterall). And yeah, maybe he wouldn't have fought for Beckett (strong moral code and shit). However, I'm sure he could have had a little bit more to do with the plot, or atleast gotten a bit more screen time. Hell, WEATHERBY SWAN pushed the plot along more. Way to be lazy Disney.
I'm also a little upset with the overload of knowledge I got from this movie. In trilogies there should generally be some interlocking plot points that make the movies progress. Between one and two it was the compass and the pearl(which I could deal with). Two and three had Davy Jones, which, again, can deal with. But then comes the whole Calypso-Davy thing, which, to me, was a little broad and random to stick in one movie that was already full of pirate lord and EITC conflict. I'm a sucker for stuff like that, and it should have gotten more screen time, or atleast should have been dealt with a bit more in the second movie.
(btw, was it a little suspect to anyone else that BOTH Jack and Barbossa were pirate lords? Jack was a captain for what, a maximum of 5 years with one crew, and Barbossa started off as a first mate, then became captain, then was cursed. I can't see it being his top priority to become a bigshot pirate lord when he couldn't enjoy eating food or having sex.)
I may be kicked out of Leah and Jackie's house for saying this, but I loved the ending. Not the stupid fountain of youth/stealing the boat/etc ending, that was stupid and unnecessary, but the fact that Will became the new captain of the Dutchman. While it sucks for all those W/E shippers, it was a lot better than Jack becoming the captain. Bravo disney, for doing the thing that you will be simultaneously congradulated and cursed for. Here be no happy endings.
All in all, it was generally a good movie (extra points for Lt. Groves moments!!). Not great. Decent. I'm definatly going to need it on dvd, if only to skip over the many shitty parts.