Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Pirates of the Caribbean is out in theaters and...I guess I will review it. This will be set up with one non-spoiler section and then a spoiler section. The spoiler section is mostly an in depth discussion of the various characters, as well as a few plot points. Nothing is really given away, but if you want to be surprised about the story, don't read it.

Non-Spoiler:
I went in with no expectations for it, and it did exceed my no expectation. The 'Pirates and Mysticism' theme felt over-done, just as it did in the second movie. Many plot points introduced in the second movie were resolved quickly, in ways that reeked of lazy story telling (Oh...that's why he's back? How convenient).

In terms of acting...Depp had his flair, Legolas had his flamboyant monotone, and Knightley had her versatility and large amount of costumes. Same as the other two in the trilogy. Chow Yun-Fat played the Singaporean pirate leader, and he did so with style. He knew his character, and he was perfect.

Visuals were pretty...like in the first two.

Story wise...most of my thoughts on it were addressed in the first paragraph. All I know is I was laughing at this movie during key exposition sequences...so that might summarize my thoughts on the story. It probably could have been done better, but it could have been done worse as well. If I had to describe this story using a smiley... rolleyes

Hmm...final score: 3nodding / pirate

Spoiler:

Man, I wonder how they're going to fight that Kraken. Oh...the evil guy had it killed. But why is Barbosa back? Oh...random woman with jamaican accent is a cleric that knows Resurrection. So why can't she bring back Depp? Oh, she isn't a high enough level to know True Resurrection, and thus requires body parts. So they address every part of that stupid cliff-hanger with exposition. That makes me hate the second one even more.

Keith Richards...awesome.

This story was definitely about Knightley's struggles. All of Depp's politicking, all of Legolas's fence-hopping, it was all just to add to Knightley's story. It felt a logical progression: 1 was all about Depp's conflict, 2 was mostly about Legolas's conflicts, and 3 was about Knightley.

Norrington lost all of his cool once he had status again. Heck, he didn't even do anything this movie. He showed up, got a sword, helped Knightley, and then got stabbed. After having such a major role in the 2nd one, it was disappointing to see him relegated to such a small role. Villain -> Double-Agent -> Fodder.

The writers tried to add more depth to C'thulu's character by showing his inner turmoil. He was still a disappointment as a villain. And he was much less terrifying now that he was sans Kraken. I don't care if he has Kitty Pryde powers now, he still sucked as a villain.

Turners...Legolas switched sides more than the Democrats did re: War in Iraq. Bootstrap they turned into a tragic character. Most of his problems stemmed from him not remembering things because now he's wall-paneling.

The final battle involved Pearl v. Flying Dutchman going around in a whirlpool. Very pretty to look at. It probably had some other things going for it.

Closing thoughts:
A satisfying ending to the trilogy. Story didn't have too much going for it. Like Shrek 3, the pretty graphics were the best part of the movie. Score that could be understood: 7/10.