Whatever massive amount Johnny Depp is getting paid as Captain Jack Sparrow, they should double it.
Pirates 3 is a blast -- whenever Johnny Depp is onscreen. When he's offscreen, sometimes it's terrific, sometimes it lags. But the second Captain Jack appears, you just have to smile.
Yes, the movie is confusing, as the reviews have promised, but I have to say, not nearly as confusing as I expected (and slightly less confusing than Pirates 2, for my money).
I was a bit lost in terms of some of the side stories, and perhaps it would have been nice to have a "Previously on Pirates of the Caribbean prologue. I still don't quite follow what the Brits wanted, or why all those people were being hanged at the beginning, or what Jack's hallucinations were all about (though they were fun).
But the basic storylines and their central questions are fairly clear, given how much is going on: Will Jack defeat Davy Jones? Will Elizabeth and Will get together? Will Will rescue his father? And the screenwriters reminded us enough of what happened in the first two movies to help us not get totally lost.
Visually, the movie is absolutely stunning. I found myself gasping for breath at a few shots -- the pirate ships lined up waiting for the East India Co. to show up, for instance. Or the Black Pearl stuck on the Great Salt Flats. With so many movies these days done "for a price," it's truly lovely to see the money up on the screen, to have a sense of scope and power in the visuals.
The actors have pretty much all taken a step up in their performances. Geoffrey Rush clearly relishes every line, Keira Knightly adds some real fire to her beauty, and even Orlando Bloom manages to turn in a non-wooden performance.
But the movie belongs to Jack Sparrow. Hanging from the yardarm, exchanging quips with role model Keith Richards, cannonballing from one ship to another, sword fighting and mincing his way through the movie, Johnny Depp continues to redefine swashbuckling in a satisfying way.
Is the movie great art? No. Great craft? Yes (esp. in design and other visual areas). Is the movie great writing or storytelling? No. Is it great fun? Yes.
And that's enough. Fun eye candy and Johnny Depp as Cap'n Jack. Give me that, and I'll be there for Pirates 4.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Good to know! We haven't seen this one yet. Friends warned us away from Pirates 2. But we're about to go on vacation so maybe we'll catch Pirates 3.
I, too, thought PotC3 was visually stunning and more accessible than #2. I didn't expect to really enjoy it and was very pleasantly surprised. Do you have any insights into the creator's worldview? I haven't been able to decide if there's a great hidden message or they just wanted to make up a grand storytelling epic.
Liz E.
I just saw "Pirates", came home, and immediately re-read what you said about the movie. I am encouraged about your review...the visual effects were astounding, especially the make-up and big battle, but the plot was hard to understand. I came home totally exhausted by the experience and I won't see the next one, but I'm glad I saw this one. WOW.
Post a Comment