Movie Monday
I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End six times last week. Maybe I needed the fantasy because I fear the bastards with the money are going to win the health care debate and the U.S. will continue to suck health care into the coffers of capitalistic profit. (Bill Maher said it right: not every thing has to be for profit.) But whatever the reason, I saw it two times with the kids; two times on TV as part of my Movie Package and two times from the recording I made of it on my Verizon recorder. Truth be told, only one viewing was complete, the recorded version, but still that’s a lot of hours devoted to fantasy in one week.
Six times, and I know I’m behind the curve with watching it. (It has already grossed almost $1 billion dollars world wide.) Plus, on so many levels it’s not a very good movie but - I loved it. (Yeah, I know I’m depressed about health care but even in my deepest depression I don’t think I would watch a bad movie six times.)
I’m sure you’ve read all the reviews you want but I’m going to throw in another one.
First, what I didn’t like:
1. I didn’t like Johnny Depp’s performance. There were flashes in his performance of the fine actor he can be but it was more of a “been there, done that, going through the motions” for him. In interviews, his fellow actors in the picture said it was his picture. I liked it better when he was only one of the important actors in a scene.
And what was with that effeminate walk? I know he’s done this walk since Pirates 1 but he’s a pirate for crying out loud. What convinced him to play a powerful, cunning, prancing pirate?
2. There was much too much verbiage. This was an action movie: show me, don't tell me. I watched the beginning three times to make sure I didn’t miss Governor Swann’s death scene. No, I didn't; it wasn’t there. Beckett announces that perhaps they didn’t need the Governor any more and the next time he appears is among the dead in the small boat brigade. Then the Cracken (sp), which was the major player at the end of Pirates 2, appears suddenly dead on a beach. And once again, the only explanation is Beckett intoning to Davy Jones: remember when I told you to kill your pet. I do understand that a three hour movie must cut a lot . However, for an action movie I think I spent too much time listening for explanations rather than watching the action.
3. All this movie lacked was a herald in every scene reminding Will and Elizabeth that their love would have to pay a great price. I picked up that clue early on and then later on and then later on again...... you get the picture. I sure got it. I pieced this and “the Dutchman must always have a captain” together fairly quickly. I knew this was not going to end happily. They didn't have to beat me over the head with that fact.
4. It took me almost all 6 viewings to understand the plot completely. I don’t know how happy I would have been with one $10+ movie ticket viewing. There was absolutely too much in the movie. However, if producers are going for DVD sales, this problem is easily resolved with the rewind button.
5. The pirate chicanery needed a score book. Sparrow was double crossing whom? Or better still, was he double-crossing different people at different times? Was Will working for Beckett? Was Will was working with Sparrow to double-cross Beckett?
6. The director missed a dramatic opportunity in this movie. I know, these are farces but this one had all the elements of important metaphors. Like Harry Potter, which turns darker as the series advances, I think Verbinski could have challenged his audience's thinking with Pirates 3. It's there, but he pulls back into farce each time.
7. I didn't like the pirate hangings which included a small child that was the first scene in the movie. As the soldier read the civil rights which had been suspended just before the hangman pulled the lever, I thought: Is this an indictment of George W. Bush and his suspension of rights in the U.S.? With that I had no problem, but why hang a child? The mood of somberness was established without it. And then this somberness was quickly reduced to farce. (See #6 above.) Also, this scene took up valuable movie time. Time needed for other events. (See #2 above.)
And now, for what I liked:
1. I loved the music. OK, it wasn’t Howard Shore in TLOTR but it was great for this pirate adventure.
2. I had no problem with the chemistry between Elizabeth and Will. I saw their drama as being played out on a duty vs. romantic love level. I guess I was looking more for choices than chemistry.
3. I thought Naomie Harris played Calypso to perfection. This was a role which could have become a stock character quickly but with her voice and gestures she empowered the human Calypso into a troubled, loving, and finally vengeful creature.
4. I liked the change in Norrington. He was a villain for me from Pirates 1. He did redeem himself.
5. I liked Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. Perhaps Depp’s problem was that Rush got dibs on his approach to a pirate captain early in Pirates 1. Depp couldn’t just be his doppelganger. Rush played “ham” the way “ham” should be served.
6. The pirate captains' meeting scene was over the top but enjoyable. Though once again, I got Barbossa and the iron balls without having Sparrow react to them. Keith Richards played his cameo with more restraint than Depp; that was a twist.
7. The "dance"/fight scene with Will and Elizabeth where he proposes and they marry was way over the top but it fit and worked.
8. I liked Elizabeth's St Crispin’s speech to the pirates. Good succinct writing here with a believable ending in "Hoist the colors." Shakespeare would have approved and Keira Knightley delivered it very well. And mentioning Knightley, I loved that her teeth were not perfect. It’s good to see a human face in acting.
9. I had no problem with Elizabeth's arc of development from damsel in distress to pirate lord. Historically, women were pirate leaders.
10. I don’t know if this is a "like" but I was sad at the ending. Not the first ending with Sparrow on the docks sans ship, but the coda which comes after the 6 minutes of the credits roll. I guess I was sad because human relationships are tough to get right a lot of the times and even when you do, life can intervene with some awful demands for payments.
Which brings me to some final observations:
Putting aside the absurdity of a human having his heart cut out and then returning to life but doomed to an existence of “10 years at sea, 1 day on land.”, the metaphor was powerful. As Arwen learned as she watched Aragon die (book, not movie) life is the price humans pay for their happiness. Will’s price to pay for being able to spend any time with Elizabeth was to become the Captain of the Dutchman. Elizabeth would raise a son alone which Will would see every 10 years. Though Verbinski ends the movie by distilling the sadness of Elizabeth and Will's parting with a cut to a humorous scene of Sparrow in the dinghy, the theme which was established at the beginning of the movie stays with you: there is always a price you must pay.
Having said that, I’m disappointed to read that there will be a Pirates 4 without Elizabeth and Will. I’m afraid it may be just another a rollicking, mindless, profitable romp without them. If ever a movie ended with a perfect segue-way into yet another sequel it’s Pirates 3. We know from the final scene (before credits) that Sparrow’s next stop is the Fountain of Youth; you know, drink from it and you remain young forever. And, even those with minor math skills have to realize that Will will be returning to an aging Elizabeth with each 10 year stopover. See the connection here?
Fellas, how about helping out Elizabeth and Will? Remember them? Your companions for three blockbusters.
I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End six times last week. Maybe I needed the fantasy because I fear the bastards with the money are going to win the health care debate and the U.S. will continue to suck health care into the coffers of capitalistic profit. (Bill Maher said it right: not every thing has to be for profit.) But whatever the reason, I saw it two times with the kids; two times on TV as part of my Movie Package and two times from the recording I made of it on my Verizon recorder. Truth be told, only one viewing was complete, the recorded version, but still that’s a lot of hours devoted to fantasy in one week.
Six times, and I know I’m behind the curve with watching it. (It has already grossed almost $1 billion dollars world wide.) Plus, on so many levels it’s not a very good movie but - I loved it. (Yeah, I know I’m depressed about health care but even in my deepest depression I don’t think I would watch a bad movie six times.)
I’m sure you’ve read all the reviews you want but I’m going to throw in another one.
First, what I didn’t like:
1. I didn’t like Johnny Depp’s performance. There were flashes in his performance of the fine actor he can be but it was more of a “been there, done that, going through the motions” for him. In interviews, his fellow actors in the picture said it was his picture. I liked it better when he was only one of the important actors in a scene.
And what was with that effeminate walk? I know he’s done this walk since Pirates 1 but he’s a pirate for crying out loud. What convinced him to play a powerful, cunning, prancing pirate?
2. There was much too much verbiage. This was an action movie: show me, don't tell me. I watched the beginning three times to make sure I didn’t miss Governor Swann’s death scene. No, I didn't; it wasn’t there. Beckett announces that perhaps they didn’t need the Governor any more and the next time he appears is among the dead in the small boat brigade. Then the Cracken (sp), which was the major player at the end of Pirates 2, appears suddenly dead on a beach. And once again, the only explanation is Beckett intoning to Davy Jones: remember when I told you to kill your pet. I do understand that a three hour movie must cut a lot . However, for an action movie I think I spent too much time listening for explanations rather than watching the action.
3. All this movie lacked was a herald in every scene reminding Will and Elizabeth that their love would have to pay a great price. I picked up that clue early on and then later on and then later on again...... you get the picture. I sure got it. I pieced this and “the Dutchman must always have a captain” together fairly quickly. I knew this was not going to end happily. They didn't have to beat me over the head with that fact.
4. It took me almost all 6 viewings to understand the plot completely. I don’t know how happy I would have been with one $10+ movie ticket viewing. There was absolutely too much in the movie. However, if producers are going for DVD sales, this problem is easily resolved with the rewind button.
5. The pirate chicanery needed a score book. Sparrow was double crossing whom? Or better still, was he double-crossing different people at different times? Was Will working for Beckett? Was Will was working with Sparrow to double-cross Beckett?
6. The director missed a dramatic opportunity in this movie. I know, these are farces but this one had all the elements of important metaphors. Like Harry Potter, which turns darker as the series advances, I think Verbinski could have challenged his audience's thinking with Pirates 3. It's there, but he pulls back into farce each time.
7. I didn't like the pirate hangings which included a small child that was the first scene in the movie. As the soldier read the civil rights which had been suspended just before the hangman pulled the lever, I thought: Is this an indictment of George W. Bush and his suspension of rights in the U.S.? With that I had no problem, but why hang a child? The mood of somberness was established without it. And then this somberness was quickly reduced to farce. (See #6 above.) Also, this scene took up valuable movie time. Time needed for other events. (See #2 above.)
And now, for what I liked:
1. I loved the music. OK, it wasn’t Howard Shore in TLOTR but it was great for this pirate adventure.
2. I had no problem with the chemistry between Elizabeth and Will. I saw their drama as being played out on a duty vs. romantic love level. I guess I was looking more for choices than chemistry.
3. I thought Naomie Harris played Calypso to perfection. This was a role which could have become a stock character quickly but with her voice and gestures she empowered the human Calypso into a troubled, loving, and finally vengeful creature.
4. I liked the change in Norrington. He was a villain for me from Pirates 1. He did redeem himself.
5. I liked Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. Perhaps Depp’s problem was that Rush got dibs on his approach to a pirate captain early in Pirates 1. Depp couldn’t just be his doppelganger. Rush played “ham” the way “ham” should be served.
6. The pirate captains' meeting scene was over the top but enjoyable. Though once again, I got Barbossa and the iron balls without having Sparrow react to them. Keith Richards played his cameo with more restraint than Depp; that was a twist.
7. The "dance"/fight scene with Will and Elizabeth where he proposes and they marry was way over the top but it fit and worked.
8. I liked Elizabeth's St Crispin’s speech to the pirates. Good succinct writing here with a believable ending in "Hoist the colors." Shakespeare would have approved and Keira Knightley delivered it very well. And mentioning Knightley, I loved that her teeth were not perfect. It’s good to see a human face in acting.
9. I had no problem with Elizabeth's arc of development from damsel in distress to pirate lord. Historically, women were pirate leaders.
10. I don’t know if this is a "like" but I was sad at the ending. Not the first ending with Sparrow on the docks sans ship, but the coda which comes after the 6 minutes of the credits roll. I guess I was sad because human relationships are tough to get right a lot of the times and even when you do, life can intervene with some awful demands for payments.
Which brings me to some final observations:
Putting aside the absurdity of a human having his heart cut out and then returning to life but doomed to an existence of “10 years at sea, 1 day on land.”, the metaphor was powerful. As Arwen learned as she watched Aragon die (book, not movie) life is the price humans pay for their happiness. Will’s price to pay for being able to spend any time with Elizabeth was to become the Captain of the Dutchman. Elizabeth would raise a son alone which Will would see every 10 years. Though Verbinski ends the movie by distilling the sadness of Elizabeth and Will's parting with a cut to a humorous scene of Sparrow in the dinghy, the theme which was established at the beginning of the movie stays with you: there is always a price you must pay.
Having said that, I’m disappointed to read that there will be a Pirates 4 without Elizabeth and Will. I’m afraid it may be just another a rollicking, mindless, profitable romp without them. If ever a movie ended with a perfect segue-way into yet another sequel it’s Pirates 3. We know from the final scene (before credits) that Sparrow’s next stop is the Fountain of Youth; you know, drink from it and you remain young forever. And, even those with minor math skills have to realize that Will will be returning to an aging Elizabeth with each 10 year stopover. See the connection here?
Fellas, how about helping out Elizabeth and Will? Remember them? Your companions for three blockbusters.
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