Pirates!

Warning: Quite minor spoilers ahead...

We watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End today. Loved it. A sequel can never have the freshness of the first movie, of being introduced to new characters in a new world with its own mythology, but as sequels go, this was a good one (unlike the last three Star Wars movies, in which the best part was that Kevin Bacon wasn't in them). We enjoyed this Pirates better than the last one.

My favorite image of the movie was a quiet one. It takes place on a night with not a breath of wind. It was as calm as a walk-in closet. The sea is glassy smooth like a dark mirror, with no land in sight in any direction. The dome of stars above are bright and clear, perfectly reflected by the water's surface. The camera pans to reveal a becalmed pirate ship sailing in this sea of stars, a sphere of twinkling lights and glowing galaxies. Stunningly gorgeous.

That's one of the things I love about the Pirate movies. They're so creative and imaginative, with twists and events you could never imagine.

I liked Keira Knightly in this movie. Her character Elizabeth was strong, noble and assertive. She made some impassioned speeches. Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa amuses me to no end. He has such a wonderful presence and delivery, and a twinkle to his every line. His monkey Jack always makes me laugh. Keith Richards, the aging rocker who influenced Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow characterization, appears as the guitar-playing Captain Teague. Chow Yun-Fat plays Captain Sao Feng.

I was disappointed that Captain Annamaria (Zoe Saldana) wasn't in this episode, but was thrilled that Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), the obeya voodoo woman was featured more prominently. Even under all that creepy makeup, you can see what a beautiful woman she is.

The movie starts with the suspension of civil rights. The right of habeus corpus is suspended. The right to counsel is suspended. The right of assembly is suspended. Associating with the enemy can be punished by death. (Any resemblance to modern times is left as an exercise for the viewer.)

At one point in the movie, the English lord acts dishonorably, breaking his word and exposing his lies, which he explains with, "It's just good business." (Any resemblance to modern times is left as an exercise for the viewer.)

Git yer scurvy bum to a theatre if'n ye wants t'hear a fine tale. arrrr!


Posted by Dave    Blog Tag: Reviews