Hoist the colours! And give me some coffee.
Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End.
If you haven't seen the last PoTC movie, and wish no spoiler, then pass by. If you have, and wish to discuss, make a stop. If you're bored, then by all mean, go see the movie.
Satisfying, not perfect.
There's rants, and there's raves, which I shall address separately. I'm not quite sure why I'm starting with the rants, but I am, even though I think this movie was awesome and definitely kicks some Spidey ass. I haven't seen that one, by the way, and after World's End, I don't intend to. I guess that puts me in the pirates' end at the iconic discussion Pirates vs. Ninjas.
Rants:
What was with the whole 'Elizabeth is Calypso' thing? She believed it for a while, and then... simply not.
One moment, she was there, being bargained with and accepting. Next we know, she's being proclaimed a goddess of the sea by Sao Feng. And right after, she's been avenged by a stray cannon bullet from being almost raped by the Singapur pirate. It would have been too much of a coincidence if she had, indeed, being the one, although, on the other side, it would have explained her fiery temper. Or something. But on a previous scene, we are shown that Tia Dalma had something to do with Davy Jones, since they carried the same sort of medallions, and of course, everybody knows There Has To Be A Connection. So, if Elizabeth were to be the goddess of the sea, then who is Tia Dalma?
So, no goddess of anything but Will's heart, apparently. But for what it looked, she believed it for a bit. We can forgive her, I guess, after all the ego trip that her becoming a pirate has been; she might have expected as much. A goddess, eh? How flattering. Turns out she isn't, though, and perhaps to avoid being pointed and laughed at when everybody found out, she hushed it up and just let things be. Kind of smart, but where does it leave the audience? Are we to suppose that matters just simply went undiscussed? That's a loose end right there, folks.
Chow Yun Fat's character, I expected better. Also, if he was one of the nine that imprisoned Calypso, how come he thought it was Elizabeth? How come nobody else did?
From the panoramic teaser poster, I expected to see that scene where everyone and their moms - by moms, I mean New Characters Played By Important Actors - are standing by each other, facing an upcoming danger. But... it didn't happen. Sao Feng just died too soon, and in a too ridiculous/embarrassing situation. I mean, is that the proper death for a warrior like him? Because, from what the very first scene told us, when Barbossa and his men infiltrate the man's lair, he is not one to be treated like a fool. Yet the death of a fool he received. What was he, in the end? The Funny Map Defender? Mere member of the Brethren Court? The owner of an underground deluxe spa for pirate folk? Bound to die with his head in the clouds, after failing to tell a mere salty wench from the goddess he himself helped imprison, when nobody else did that silly mistake, he could have been played by a less-known actor, methinks.
If you did not stay till the end of the credits, then you're missing a very important development in the Will/Elizabeth affair.
If you ask me, Will becoming the new captain of the Flying Dutchman is ridiculous. And really, it even isn't that, exactly. It is the fact that things with Elizabeth just ended right there and then. Like
luthienshadows said, 'things don't get any better'. I expected her to kill herself, to do something stupidly corageous - or corageously stupid, no difference - to bind herself to the ship and live happily ever after with him, as clichéd as it might seem. Because, you know, clichés have become so for a reason: they work. Not the blatant, copy-after-copy formula of all average movies, part of the proverbial mass, but the one, well-done happily ever after we expect to see when the heroes have gone through so much... Is it just me, or did that conclusion leave a bad taste in somebody else's mouth? Because, damn, they finally solved the whole thing that took three movies, but lost each other! Look up frustrating on the dictionary and you will find a link to a description of a ten-years timeframe. Lucky that they could start with one of those One Day's.
And that takes me to the next point. First movie: the monkey removes a coin from the chest, bringing the curse upon itself, which explains many of his feats in this movie, by the way; second movie: the Keys Dog being appointed as leader of That Wild Tribe and escaping from being a rather scrawny entrée. He appeared in this movie to justify one of the cleverest lines from the whole movie:
'How di--? What di--? Ho--?'
'Sea turtles, mate.'
Brilliant.
And last but definitely not least, and in fact, key to the Will/Elizabeth plot (drumroll, please):
Third movie: a girl boy of about ten years old strolling down to watch the setting sun, singing a pirate song and followed by her proud mother. They stare for a few seconds and then are bathed on a green flash, after which a ship, bearing a handsome and above all, honest-looking man, appears out of nowhere on the horizon.
I was absolutely relieved. Because, one thing was to imagine poor Elizabeth, tied to a memory and waiting by the sea the return of his beloved, which was, completely absurd for a plotline, and a very different one was to see her as a mother, still tied to a memory but having a life to look after, someone in which to remember in person her husband, and someone to love deeply, passionately and with all her heart, as a mother does. That way, the waiting for her husband is bearable, because her child is the testament of his undying love. And as I said at the beginning, it was relieving.
But still, if you are one of those persons - easily an eighty percent of the people I watched with the movie were - that leaves the theatre as soon as the director's name comes on screen, you're not aware of this. In your mind, Elizabeth simply walked away, tormented by desire and yearning, and hopeful of That One Day where she'll meet her beloved again. Someone might have thought, 'hey, she could have gotten pregnant and have a child to comfort her', but that's one in a million, and at most, what that person would do was go and write a story about that, but it definitely wouldn't close the circle for the audience, for canon. Canon! That wonderful and, sometimes, capricious things that us, writers, are bound to both respect and betray...
But I'm drifting: point was, if you didn't see it to the end, you're screwed and destined to frustration. Unless of course you weren't watching the movie for the romantic melodrama, like me.
Where were the rest of pirates in the final duel with the Dutchman, around the maelstrom? They just fly by to say hi for one scene and then are gone to leave space to the solitary pirate-ship duet sailing.
Again, let's start with, now Pirate Queen King, Elizabeth. She is supposed to be the leading voice and she says 'fight'. She even delivers her encouraging speech, earning a spot of glory besides King Elessar and Leonidas of Sparta in the Hall of Warrior Kings, speech that says, among other things, that they'll be the example the other ships will follow.
And then... the Pearl battles the Flying Dutchman on her own.
Who's to care, though? The fighting scenes are superb, and that's enough to make anyone forget about the other six pirate captains. Personally, I thought they had died some way or another.
But right after that long, tiring, upbeat but free-flowing and engaging fightning scene, they show up to say hi. After the Pearl and the Dutchman have beaten the crap out of Cutler Beckett - beautiful scene, by the way, when he walks down the stairs, debris flying around him, and gets engulfed in the flame, when he realises his cunning plan has gone to hell - they show up to cheer for Will. Where were they? And then the scene opens, and the Pearl and the Dutchman are seen sailing peacefully, side by side, in the middle of a calm sea, with the retreating companies at their backs. Again, where were the other six pirate captains? Off-screen?
Alright, that's pretty much it regarding Issues. Now, to the good bits. Don't get me wrong: most of the movie was good, and I'd love to see it again and all, but all of the above just left a bit of an uncertainty that couldn't not go unmentioned. Plus, something that most critics find negative about this movie, but I didn't bother mentioning: the plot was too complicated to follow across the almost-three-hours movie. At a time, I found myself wondering, why exactly is this happening? But it wasn't much of an issue, because the action and dialogues explained themselves, so you didn't have to remember what had been said before.
Raves:
The wedding scene.
Yes, at first I rolled my eyes in frustration. 'Damn it, Will, this is not the time!' and all that. But then, the way it changed my mind it the little time it lasted was amazing, and it's the reason why I name it a rave. It first looked like another of those scenes that mix comedy with action, which are, by the way, so well done in this movies, but it wasn't just that. It was true, real and tangible romance in the middle of a fight. At first it seemed forced, Will saying that there would be no time for that after, but as it developed, it fell in place really neatly, and above all, gave the swordfighting chaos an interesting hue. And seeing the following developments, there was no time after to such matter, indeed, so it was there for a good reason. I mean, imagine if they hadn't managed to get hitched before Will got Jones' curse...
And... the dialogues weren't that big a thing, but the movement... the way they danced with each other as they fought, ducking and charging and slashing their enemies in the middle of stolen glances and caught up words, it was excellent. It bought me right there and then, after my initial skepticism. The fangirl in me revived to moon at the way Will said 'I do', so convinced and passionate it made those two words sound like a whole love poem, and when he reached out - somewhat circularly, in a way that, without looking like a pose, it gave him such an air of chivalry and grandeur - to curl his arm around Elizabeth's waist and kiss her, my inner fangirl was screaming like mad, and at a point, she noticed something odd and incredible: he looked for a nanosecond like Bloom's jump-to-fame character Legolas, the mythical elf warrior, ethereal in its greatness but when in Will Turner's guise, so... physical and present and overwhelming... it made my jaw drop.
It makes me nod in fervent approval to remember poor, shy Will Turner from the first movie, afraid of being improper, leaping to corageous, heroic Will Turner. It's quite the change, a growth that we all wish to see in a character, from zero to hero, etc. Beautifully done.
Jack's pointless death scene. His descent into madness, and the remnants of it in a mild schizophrenia when he gets back.
Jack's madness = FTW.
Because, if one sample of Sparrow Charm isn't enough to keep us content, what about two? Three? Catorce? [/U2 reference] A crew of Jacks, a prison full of Jacks, a wall-encrusted, rotting Jack, licking his brain and whispering things to the Real Jack's ear. Because, how many of us have memorised his lines and chuckled at the memory of that drunken accent and cheeky bravado, that reckless amusement with himself and complete disregard for social conventions that his words imply and proclaim? That charm, multiplied by itself and divided by all possible getaways equals a lot of Sparrow to feast on. An that is always a win.
Jack's dad. T3h awesome.
I knew it was his dad. He had the same air, the same look, plus all the maturity implied. He even had a signature stride, that looked militar, but was so full of himself that it was unmistakable. The way he said 'sea turtles, mate,' made me crack up and declare myself a fan, to the surprised look of my boyfriend, who apparently didn't get it. I had just told him that, 'he must be Jack's father, they're so similar' when Jack asked 'how's mom?'. Like father, like son. Superb characterisation.
And what does that militar thing means, you might ask? Well, in my mind, it makes all sense that Jack's father was the strict kind - he was the Keeper of the Code, how much stricter can you get? -, because Jack seems to be trapped most of the time in a reckless adolescence that has no restraint in itself, which might be explained as a rebellious act on his part towards his all-too-demanding father. But then, that's just me.
Norrington's redemption.
I liked him from the beginning. He gave Jack one day of head start, and then became a pirate himself. He worked for himself most of the time, but it was clear that, behind those beautiful and uncertain blue eyes, honesty was peaking out and disapproving. And then, he let Elizabeth go. He could have gone with her, but he offered himself to save her, and even got a thank-you kiss, and went to face death like a hero, answering with his sword though Davy Jones' chest when approached to join the cursed crew. That closes cleanly that chapter and allows to move on without regrets and hold the fallen hero in high esteem and respect. And that's how it should be for every loose end, but then, you can't ask much from summer blockbusters, can you?
Miscellaneous well done bits:
- The governor's death. Even though it was heart-breaking, it added beautifully to the sense of despair and sadness left on the way of the enemy's advances. Although I did wonder, if Will's on a mission to save his father, how come Elizabeth is not allowed to do that? Because she didn't happen to make a promise? Bit biased, IMO.
- Bootstrap's own madness. Same reason as above, even if it changes at the end. For a moment, though, I thought Will wouldn't be able to save his father because of that.
- The romance between Davy Jones and Calypso. It gave their characters more depth.
So, when I got home - around 3 AM on Friday -, I started this post. I was meaning to post as soon as I got around to edit it, but I couldn't. One thing or another, I got lazy, etc. But it finally saw the light, yay. I hope I can keep posting on this journal, since I've been pretty much gone the last weeks - months? - and there are some things that have happened in my life.
But, back on topic, go see this movie if you haven't. If you have seen the previous two, it's a must. And if you haven't, you'd do good by seeing them, they're a good distraction, and there'll probably be much talking about it in the next few months, or at least till Harry Potter's new book and movie come out.
But until then, it's pirate time!