Schitzophrenia, Ships of the Line, and Guitar Players...
What do they have in common?
So, Pirates of the Caribbean finally comes to a smashing, somewhat epic close to it's longly successful and ultimately very profitable series of movies, soundtracks, spinoffs and colouring books. It's one of the major reasons why we still think of modern day pirates as wobbly-legged, poorly hygenic, rum-soaked miscreants, and not just some asiatic people with a fetish for going aboard, and kidnapping people for ransom.
But, indeed it has been a very enjoyable three movies, spanning 3 years, and each one slightly more extending itself than the last. Each one pushing the boundries of where the amusement park-ish stereotypes end, and where the typically artistic Bruckheimian begins.
Storyplot: 3 1/2 bottles of Rum out of 5.
Sure, most of the good, and epic story telling was already done and pretty much everything just had to be settled out for once and for all. And that's pretty much why it was flawed to begin with. I won't spoil the plot for those who haven't seen the movie yet, but I don't think it'll really surprise you all that much.
Some convoluted twistings, turned some likeable characters into dislikeable ones, and some dislikeable ones into significantly more sympathetically dislikeable characters.
Some characters just end (which really somewhat makes me annoyed) abruptly. And some other trivial characters just somehow manage to survive against all the odd's, much to the amusement to most in the audience. Unfortunately most of the dialogue seems to either reference the first two movies (at least the funny bits, although that's probably why they're still funny) and that's one of the big low points. (Plus the unexpectedly unusual antics of Lord Cuttler Beckett and his cronies, seriously, where did he get those pieces of eight from if they weren't the real ones?)
Some new characters (Keith Richards being short-lived on screen) just seemed to make things more complicated, but pretty much in the end, everyone either dies, has a happy ending, or is disinclined to acquiesce to the fact that they've been had. And so, like the beginning, is like the end. And the movie goes full circle (and leaving it very much open for multiple sequels).
Prettyness, savvy?: 5 Jack Sparrow's out of 5 Jack Sparrow's.
And here's why they pay the top dollars for all those CGI people. And probably one of the number one reasons why this movie didn't recieve an ultimately lower rating.
Special effects, were the probably most spectacular, even topping out the first two movies themselves. Somehow, fighting in a maelstrom with two ships locked mast-to-mast, firing broadsides at each other, trying to swing people across in a tropical storm...
Just hasn't looked better (Nor has an exploding first rate ship of the line ever looked... Well I doubt they've ever actually filmed one for hollywood).
Seriously. I won't ruin it for you, but that was one of the highlights of the film. Hard to follow at times, and the action was pretty much the same as the first two, however even in the chaos they manage to pull off a very stylisticly enhanced battle scene.
The arts department must have been having a field day designing sets however, as the movie seems to make the trek from stylishly fantastical chinese (seriously, they did not employ sumo wrestlers and midgets to produce steam!) in Singapore all the way to the countlessly 'British' decking of the British Armada. And somewhere in between designing costumes for a motley band of piteously broke international pirate lords (which by the way, strangely were all featured in previous expansions of Pirates of the Spanish Main CSG).
And the multiple Jacks, were a rather amusing touch.
Music: 5 out of 5 British Armada's.
Even though Klaus Badelt should be recieving all the worthy acclaims for the actual devellopment of the 'Jack Sparrow' theme from the first movie, the wondering hands of Mr. Hans Zimmer have much to do with the progressive nature of the soundtracks.
And he pulls this one with flash, thunder, and unspectacular awe.
Pulling themes, items and other such flavours from the first two movies, Hans has concocted a somewhat perfect mix of swashbuckling themes, with all the punch of a carronade. And somehow manages to slip some new influences into the mix (last movie he took a page from a Danny-Elfman-themed waltz) this time around he manages to slip in some electric guitar somehow into the new soundtrack.
But it doesn't detract from the overall experience. Out of all of it, I actually enjoyed the soundtrack the most.
Overall: 4.5 broadsides out of 5.
Go see this movie. Don't DIVX it. Don't wait for the cheap seats. Go see it now. Don't even wait for that six-disk limited edition box set to come out on blu-ray... SEE IT NOW!
So, Pirates of the Caribbean finally comes to a smashing, somewhat epic close to it's longly successful and ultimately very profitable series of movies, soundtracks, spinoffs and colouring books. It's one of the major reasons why we still think of modern day pirates as wobbly-legged, poorly hygenic, rum-soaked miscreants, and not just some asiatic people with a fetish for going aboard, and kidnapping people for ransom.
But, indeed it has been a very enjoyable three movies, spanning 3 years, and each one slightly more extending itself than the last. Each one pushing the boundries of where the amusement park-ish stereotypes end, and where the typically artistic Bruckheimian begins.
Storyplot: 3 1/2 bottles of Rum out of 5.
Sure, most of the good, and epic story telling was already done and pretty much everything just had to be settled out for once and for all. And that's pretty much why it was flawed to begin with. I won't spoil the plot for those who haven't seen the movie yet, but I don't think it'll really surprise you all that much.
Some convoluted twistings, turned some likeable characters into dislikeable ones, and some dislikeable ones into significantly more sympathetically dislikeable characters.
Some characters just end (which really somewhat makes me annoyed) abruptly. And some other trivial characters just somehow manage to survive against all the odd's, much to the amusement to most in the audience. Unfortunately most of the dialogue seems to either reference the first two movies (at least the funny bits, although that's probably why they're still funny) and that's one of the big low points. (Plus the unexpectedly unusual antics of Lord Cuttler Beckett and his cronies, seriously, where did he get those pieces of eight from if they weren't the real ones?)
Some new characters (Keith Richards being short-lived on screen) just seemed to make things more complicated, but pretty much in the end, everyone either dies, has a happy ending, or is disinclined to acquiesce to the fact that they've been had. And so, like the beginning, is like the end. And the movie goes full circle (and leaving it very much open for multiple sequels).
Prettyness, savvy?: 5 Jack Sparrow's out of 5 Jack Sparrow's.
And here's why they pay the top dollars for all those CGI people. And probably one of the number one reasons why this movie didn't recieve an ultimately lower rating.
Special effects, were the probably most spectacular, even topping out the first two movies themselves. Somehow, fighting in a maelstrom with two ships locked mast-to-mast, firing broadsides at each other, trying to swing people across in a tropical storm...
Just hasn't looked better (Nor has an exploding first rate ship of the line ever looked... Well I doubt they've ever actually filmed one for hollywood).
Seriously. I won't ruin it for you, but that was one of the highlights of the film. Hard to follow at times, and the action was pretty much the same as the first two, however even in the chaos they manage to pull off a very stylisticly enhanced battle scene.
The arts department must have been having a field day designing sets however, as the movie seems to make the trek from stylishly fantastical chinese (seriously, they did not employ sumo wrestlers and midgets to produce steam!) in Singapore all the way to the countlessly 'British' decking of the British Armada. And somewhere in between designing costumes for a motley band of piteously broke international pirate lords (which by the way, strangely were all featured in previous expansions of Pirates of the Spanish Main CSG).
And the multiple Jacks, were a rather amusing touch.
Music: 5 out of 5 British Armada's.
Even though Klaus Badelt should be recieving all the worthy acclaims for the actual devellopment of the 'Jack Sparrow' theme from the first movie, the wondering hands of Mr. Hans Zimmer have much to do with the progressive nature of the soundtracks.
And he pulls this one with flash, thunder, and unspectacular awe.
Pulling themes, items and other such flavours from the first two movies, Hans has concocted a somewhat perfect mix of swashbuckling themes, with all the punch of a carronade. And somehow manages to slip some new influences into the mix (last movie he took a page from a Danny-Elfman-themed waltz) this time around he manages to slip in some electric guitar somehow into the new soundtrack.
But it doesn't detract from the overall experience. Out of all of it, I actually enjoyed the soundtrack the most.
Overall: 4.5 broadsides out of 5.
Go see this movie. Don't DIVX it. Don't wait for the cheap seats. Go see it now. Don't even wait for that six-disk limited edition box set to come out on blu-ray... SEE IT NOW!