To quote Errol Flynn as Captain Blood

[jmward14]

"Bedad, it's epic."
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is everything you've heard.  It's big.  It sprawls.  It's complicated.  You really do need to have read the first two volumes--er, seen the first two films to understand what's happening and why.  It's probably 45 minutes too long.
And I wouldn't cut a minute of it.  
There's character development.  (Big character arcs!)  Romance.  Action.  Honor.  Treachery.  Social commentary.  (Lots of social commentary, and in the fine tradition of the old Zorro TV series, in direct contradiction to what you'd expect from WorldMouse.)  Plus a really nice Easter egg after the credits.  And they managed all three films without inflicting a single Ewok on us...unless you count the anti-Ewok in Gibbs' last scene.  Heh heh. 
Almost can't wait for the boxed set of DVDs.  I really do want to see all the films in quick succession so I don't have to dredge important details from memory's vaults--or Davey Jones' Locker.  Which was sweetly done, btw.
Can't wait to see all the costumes again at DragonCon either.  I'm sure we'll have a whole crew of fine Jack Sparrows, Will Turners, Elizabeth Swanns, Barbossas and much, much more.
Cheers and fannish smiles,
Jean Marie

Comments

[ex-rachelca.livejournal.com]

Oh YEAH, baby. I loved it, too. Yes, it's big and sprawling and requires you to pay attention ... what's bad about that? Pah to those who say it makes them work too hard. Wankers.

Will go again, and buy the DVDs. AND buy the high definition once I'm convinced they've settled their format wars, or at least there's an affordable universal player, since I now own a 1080p TV (OMG).

Wish I was going to D*C, but I'm overcommitted this year, as usual ... next year for sure, though!

R.

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

{{{{{rachelcaine}}}}}}
Overcommitted doesn't begin to cover it. Reading your blog, I wonder how you have time to breathe, much less sleep. :-)
Sorry I'll miss you at DragonCon. I decided to give RWA a pass for monetary reasons. IOW, not until one of the books earns me more than the article I wrote about it in RWR. :D
Too funny on the HD stuff. Greg wants to buy one of the big thin screens. I told him not until one of our four TVs actually buys it. May take years. We still have the 1970s model he bought for $30 after he graduated college--and it was old then.
Back to PotC, though. I think what I loved the best was all the main characters were intimately involved in the resolution of the plot. It's amazing how may folks forget that basic of good storytelling.
Hugs,
Jean Marie

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

I thought they stuck the landing beautifully. If you'd been involved in a double-cross somehow, you never got quite what you'd hoped for. And that included MCs Jack, Norrington, Will, and Elizabeth. Though...I have to say Norrington's fate made me sad, since I firmly believe he is a much better adversary than Beckett because he had a grudge to hone, and not just a bank account and a wig to powder.

And dear me, Geoffrey Rush was so over-the-top you couldn't help but feel piratey right along with him. And the monkey. Oh, the monkey.

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

I think they were operating on the principle that Beckett was Big Bad so he had to go out with the biggest bang, as it were.
Norrington's fate is one of the reasons I want to see all three films together. His was the only part I felt cheated on at the end. However, given the circumstances of his final scene, I'd say there was still a lot of potential for his character. I don't think Bootstrap Bill is the only person on that crew, and wouldn't that just piss Norrington to hell and gone.
Hugs and evil grins,
Jean Marie

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

I found the business with Norrington's sword very interesting. In the first movie it's made by Will Turner and given to Norrington by Governor Swann. In the second movie it more or less disappears because Norrington disappears. And in this one, it's back--returned to Norrington by Beckett, and then used to kill Norrington AND Will.

Hmm regarding the possibilities of future plot featuring Norrington. I'd have to watch the second film again to see exactly how it is one becomes a crewman on the Flying Dutchman, but I thought you had to be alive and owing a debt. Dead Norrington may not work.

And now you see the terrible depths fannish obsession will plumb...LOL

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

Can't wait for the fanfic myself. Hugs and evil grins, Jean Marie *who sees nothing wrong with fannish obsession as long as you don't scare the (sea) horses*

PoC3

[(Anonymous)]

From Jewell

Man, I loved this movie. 'Tis true you really needed to see the first two to "get" the third, but tough.

I adore those types of interwoven movies. Where a theme from the first, though subtle, gets carried through and requires thought to make the connections. And Pirates has many.

Yes, yes, as an author in my particular genre, I'm supposed to make each book stand alone...however, I'm a huge fan of genres that can pull off these trilogy and beyond type stories. I gobble them up.

Now I can't wait to have the three pack of these to pick up on any hints I may have missed.

Brava, Bravo