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So I’m sitting here wondering if this is the right moment to launch into a rant about Disney that has been spinning itself in my head for quite a few years now. The only problem with doing it now, is that I would be forced to end it on a positive note, in admitting how thoroughly I enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean, and in doing so I wouldn’t be able to fully condemn every bit of Disney to the fiery inferno of punishment that I otherwise think it deserves. Thus, Ed Asner can breathe easy for a couple more weeks, while I save my venom for a more appropriate example.
So, what kind of movie is it that can temporarily stay my verbal machete? A seriously entertaining one, is what. Being as harsh as I tend to be on films in general, especially considering that this one flies the accursed Disney banner, I think it says a lot that I spent the entirety of the film enjoying it just for what it was: an old-fashioned adventure flick, with new-fashioned flair to spice it up. Rarely have I been this regaled with a movie of so little substance since I last watched Erol Flynn in The Sea Hawk.
Plotwise, it’s fairly simple -- formulaic, even –- but that’s kind of the beauty of it, because it’s allowed the other elements of the actual story-telling to shine through. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), who was saved from shipwreck as a boy by the equally young Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) whom he’s been pining for ever after, enlists the help of renegade pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) when Miss Swann is abducted by cursed pirates led by the particularly wicked Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) with whom Sparrow of course has a score to settle. Turner discovers much about his own past in his chase after the damsel in distress, and the damsel in distress herself, well, she’s happy as long as she doesn’t have to wear any more restrictive clothing than necessary.
You don’t go to see a movie like this for the deep and powerful message interwoven into the subtext; you go for the cool swashbuckling scenes that borrowed a trick or two from Xena: Warrior Princess. You’re not there because of the new ground-breaking cinematic techniques being utilized; you’re there because the effects that are used have been done excellently in keeping with the fantastic nature of the story. You won’t be going to see the extraordinary Oscar-winning performance of a big-name actor; you’re there to salivate in large quantities over Johnny Depp with eyeliner on, or at the very least, to humour your girlfriend while she does this as you pray for another scene with a scantily-clad Kiera Knightley.
That said, PotC is pretty darn impressive with everything it offers up. If a movie is indeed more than the sum of its parts, it’s not difficult to see why this one did so well at the box-office. First and foremost, kudos must go to Depp, because apart from being delicious head-to-toe (even as a grungy pirate), his performance was just so much fun to watch. He really made the role his own, and absolutely stole the show with some of the most hilarious delivery of what would otherwise be awfully corny dialogue. Geoffrey Rush was no slouch either, playing the villainous Barbossa with enough menace to merit his own fleet of smart-ass parrots.
Orlando Bloom was given something of a pithy role in comparison to these two, and he did Musketeer out at the end (feathered hat and all), but he’s got a charm all his own that takes the mush out of the love-story, and replaces it with something a little bit more tolerable. I mean, sure, he’s doing it for the love of fair lady and all that, but Bloom’s no where near as insipid as DiCaprio in Titanic, for example. Though I have to admit that I did wuss out and turn all girlie for the happy ending, complete with great big sigh : “Awwwwww, I wish that were me,” the love story was not half as exploited as it could have been, and that in and of itself was a refreshing departure from Disney films in general.
I’m all for CGI, when the story isn’t a thin over-stretched excuse for the effects to occur in the first place, and fortunately in PotC this wasn’t the case. The effects, though suffering some logic problems in a few scenes, were spooky and well-done. I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more attention to detail in some cases, but overall, I really can’t complain. When it comes to artistry, even I can’t deny that the Mickey Mouse team’s got some talented people in their court, and it continues to show here.
The thing that really took the cake for me, though, was the action. This flick just never let up – rarely was there a dull moment, and all of it was beautifully choreographed and executed. The sword-fighting stands out above all else as the main draw in this category, and I can’t properly express what a treat it was to see it on the big screen. Putting the swordfights over the top was the almost continuous full-view of the fights as they were happening. I am so sick of clever camera techniques that prevent the audience from seeing whether or not it’s a stuntman doing the move, or the actual actor, and had PotC fallen prey to this evil, I probably would have chucked the movie into the don’t-bother-watching-it-twice pile. I was seriously aching for a remote-control so that I could rewind and watch the scene in the black-smith shop over-again, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do when I get it on DVD.
Last but not least, PotC takes itself with a mega-grain of salt. There is a consistent thread of humour throughout that pokes fun at both the genre itself, as well as the ride from which it originates. Without this element, I’m pretty sure PotC would have been one damn stale cracker, and nobody, least of all Polly, wants that.
So, what kind of movie is it that can temporarily stay my verbal machete? A seriously entertaining one, is what. Being as harsh as I tend to be on films in general, especially considering that this one flies the accursed Disney banner, I think it says a lot that I spent the entirety of the film enjoying it just for what it was: an old-fashioned adventure flick, with new-fashioned flair to spice it up. Rarely have I been this regaled with a movie of so little substance since I last watched Erol Flynn in The Sea Hawk.
Plotwise, it’s fairly simple -- formulaic, even –- but that’s kind of the beauty of it, because it’s allowed the other elements of the actual story-telling to shine through. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), who was saved from shipwreck as a boy by the equally young Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) whom he’s been pining for ever after, enlists the help of renegade pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) when Miss Swann is abducted by cursed pirates led by the particularly wicked Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) with whom Sparrow of course has a score to settle. Turner discovers much about his own past in his chase after the damsel in distress, and the damsel in distress herself, well, she’s happy as long as she doesn’t have to wear any more restrictive clothing than necessary.
You don’t go to see a movie like this for the deep and powerful message interwoven into the subtext; you go for the cool swashbuckling scenes that borrowed a trick or two from Xena: Warrior Princess. You’re not there because of the new ground-breaking cinematic techniques being utilized; you’re there because the effects that are used have been done excellently in keeping with the fantastic nature of the story. You won’t be going to see the extraordinary Oscar-winning performance of a big-name actor; you’re there to salivate in large quantities over Johnny Depp with eyeliner on, or at the very least, to humour your girlfriend while she does this as you pray for another scene with a scantily-clad Kiera Knightley.
That said, PotC is pretty darn impressive with everything it offers up. If a movie is indeed more than the sum of its parts, it’s not difficult to see why this one did so well at the box-office. First and foremost, kudos must go to Depp, because apart from being delicious head-to-toe (even as a grungy pirate), his performance was just so much fun to watch. He really made the role his own, and absolutely stole the show with some of the most hilarious delivery of what would otherwise be awfully corny dialogue. Geoffrey Rush was no slouch either, playing the villainous Barbossa with enough menace to merit his own fleet of smart-ass parrots.
Orlando Bloom was given something of a pithy role in comparison to these two, and he did Musketeer out at the end (feathered hat and all), but he’s got a charm all his own that takes the mush out of the love-story, and replaces it with something a little bit more tolerable. I mean, sure, he’s doing it for the love of fair lady and all that, but Bloom’s no where near as insipid as DiCaprio in Titanic, for example. Though I have to admit that I did wuss out and turn all girlie for the happy ending, complete with great big sigh : “Awwwwww, I wish that were me,” the love story was not half as exploited as it could have been, and that in and of itself was a refreshing departure from Disney films in general.
I’m all for CGI, when the story isn’t a thin over-stretched excuse for the effects to occur in the first place, and fortunately in PotC this wasn’t the case. The effects, though suffering some logic problems in a few scenes, were spooky and well-done. I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more attention to detail in some cases, but overall, I really can’t complain. When it comes to artistry, even I can’t deny that the Mickey Mouse team’s got some talented people in their court, and it continues to show here.
The thing that really took the cake for me, though, was the action. This flick just never let up – rarely was there a dull moment, and all of it was beautifully choreographed and executed. The sword-fighting stands out above all else as the main draw in this category, and I can’t properly express what a treat it was to see it on the big screen. Putting the swordfights over the top was the almost continuous full-view of the fights as they were happening. I am so sick of clever camera techniques that prevent the audience from seeing whether or not it’s a stuntman doing the move, or the actual actor, and had PotC fallen prey to this evil, I probably would have chucked the movie into the don’t-bother-watching-it-twice pile. I was seriously aching for a remote-control so that I could rewind and watch the scene in the black-smith shop over-again, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do when I get it on DVD.
Last but not least, PotC takes itself with a mega-grain of salt. There is a consistent thread of humour throughout that pokes fun at both the genre itself, as well as the ride from which it originates. Without this element, I’m pretty sure PotC would have been one damn stale cracker, and nobody, least of all Polly, wants that.
