Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Jul. 7th, 2006 03:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieSaw Pirates of the Carribean at the midnight showing. There were a bunch of people dressed in pirate outfits, too.
This isn't as good as the original (it has too many balls in the air all at once), but it does have its moments. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I especially loved the sharply intercut, crazy opening, with the rain pouring into teacups and sodden Elizabeth waiting for Will who is brought in by soldiers.
First off, permit me to be incoherent for a bit: ORLANDO!!!!
Orlando is certainly the hottest thing I've ever seen on screen and Will Turner is my movie husband. Actually, the whole movie was worthwhile for the scene where Will is going to get whipped and they rip his shirt off and we see his bare back. Yum. Indeed. And it's his father who is going to whip him and the angst is good and I am happy. Half-naked Orlando covers a multitude of sins.
But even though Will is my movie husband, I wouldn't mind having a brief one-night stand with Norrington, who is dewigged and de-primmed and looks a lot of Wesley in the later seasons of Angel and is all ambiguous and scruffy and pissed off and hot. He's a man who did a noble thing and lost a lot and would like to get his life back. Yay.
Jack? He is not as interesting as in the first movie (but then I admit I always prefer the heroic types myself) but I can see why he is into self-preservation: every time he tries to do something decent, he gets double-crossed (see Elizabeth chaining him for the kraken at the end).
I did love Will being all noble and heroic (them's usually my types), and being all take-charge at the battle and undaunted on the Flying Dunchman. The guy is monomoniacal.
Also, I am SO relieved they did not make Elizabeth fall for Jack. When I saw her kissing him near the end, I got incredibly pissed off. But of course, it was her excuse to chain him. Of course, in some ways Jack and Elizabeth are a lot more similar to each other than to Will: Will is a 'Hero' who would never ever do such an underhanded thing.
And the cool thing is, Will SAW her kiss Jack. After he went through such hell and was willing to literally bargain away his soul to save her and had no thought but for her. The look on his face? Like he's been punched. And he just closes off after that. That is one dysfunctional pissed off guy at the end (were they going for foreshadowing with all that Davy Jones talk in the beginning about DJ loving someone/something so much but not back that it was unbearable pain blah blah and looking at Will at the same time). When he sits there at the end, stabbing the table repeatedly with his knife? Not a happy camper. And I think he agrees to join the search for Jack (last, too)mainly because he is trying to do the best for Elizabeth and he thinks Elizabeth wants Jack but repression or not, the boy is going to explode soon. And a pissed off Will is someone I'd steer clear of.
And the cool thing is, Elizabeth can never explain (I don't think she knows Will saw her but still...). Because telling Will that she tricked Jack so she could chain him to die is just as bad a thing and she can't tell it to Will. And there is the fact that (though I don't think she admits it even to herself) that kiss wasn't all business: she is a bit attracted to Jack (because he is completely unpredictable and they are a bit similar, and she is lonely and horny (wedding night she did't get to have is definitely on her mind)), though it makes me pissed off at her since Will is doinghis utmost for her at the time. And a bit of it is that she is pissed off at Jack for playing her. So yes, not something she could ever tell.
In a lot of ways, this movie is a bit darker than the original (both its blessing and a curse). Jack is willing to do a lot more cynical stuff and ends up being double-crossed and eaten. Elizabeth does something horrible: she leaves Jack as a scapegoat to a certain death. And Will, who is a bit of an absolutist, sees his ideals all shattered: he puts Elizabeth on a pedestal and he sees her kiss another man. He thinks of his father as this noble distant (if piratical) figure and ends up meeting him and can't free him even though he swore and he fails. Norrington ends up fulfilling the bidding of the corrupt bad guy etc etc. And at the end, it's guilt that drives Elizabeth to the rescue and as for Will, it's a kind of masochistic anger and his desire to see Elizabeth happy. Not a happy functional scenario.
On the cheerier side? Geoffrey Rush gets to finish that apple.
So yes, not as good as the original. But once the movie settles down a bit (after the first 45 minutes), quite quite fun. Especially if you want to see a half-naked, wet, and whipped Orlando Bloom. And oh baby, do I ever!
I need me some POTC and/or Orlando icons. And I am digging out my copy of Errol Flynn's Sea Hawk to satisfy the new-awakened pirate swashbuckler yen.
This isn't as good as the original (it has too many balls in the air all at once), but it does have its moments. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I especially loved the sharply intercut, crazy opening, with the rain pouring into teacups and sodden Elizabeth waiting for Will who is brought in by soldiers.
First off, permit me to be incoherent for a bit: ORLANDO!!!!
Orlando is certainly the hottest thing I've ever seen on screen and Will Turner is my movie husband. Actually, the whole movie was worthwhile for the scene where Will is going to get whipped and they rip his shirt off and we see his bare back. Yum. Indeed. And it's his father who is going to whip him and the angst is good and I am happy. Half-naked Orlando covers a multitude of sins.
But even though Will is my movie husband, I wouldn't mind having a brief one-night stand with Norrington, who is dewigged and de-primmed and looks a lot of Wesley in the later seasons of Angel and is all ambiguous and scruffy and pissed off and hot. He's a man who did a noble thing and lost a lot and would like to get his life back. Yay.
Jack? He is not as interesting as in the first movie (but then I admit I always prefer the heroic types myself) but I can see why he is into self-preservation: every time he tries to do something decent, he gets double-crossed (see Elizabeth chaining him for the kraken at the end).
I did love Will being all noble and heroic (them's usually my types), and being all take-charge at the battle and undaunted on the Flying Dunchman. The guy is monomoniacal.
Also, I am SO relieved they did not make Elizabeth fall for Jack. When I saw her kissing him near the end, I got incredibly pissed off. But of course, it was her excuse to chain him. Of course, in some ways Jack and Elizabeth are a lot more similar to each other than to Will: Will is a 'Hero' who would never ever do such an underhanded thing.
And the cool thing is, Will SAW her kiss Jack. After he went through such hell and was willing to literally bargain away his soul to save her and had no thought but for her. The look on his face? Like he's been punched. And he just closes off after that. That is one dysfunctional pissed off guy at the end (were they going for foreshadowing with all that Davy Jones talk in the beginning about DJ loving someone/something so much but not back that it was unbearable pain blah blah and looking at Will at the same time). When he sits there at the end, stabbing the table repeatedly with his knife? Not a happy camper. And I think he agrees to join the search for Jack (last, too)mainly because he is trying to do the best for Elizabeth and he thinks Elizabeth wants Jack but repression or not, the boy is going to explode soon. And a pissed off Will is someone I'd steer clear of.
And the cool thing is, Elizabeth can never explain (I don't think she knows Will saw her but still...). Because telling Will that she tricked Jack so she could chain him to die is just as bad a thing and she can't tell it to Will. And there is the fact that (though I don't think she admits it even to herself) that kiss wasn't all business: she is a bit attracted to Jack (because he is completely unpredictable and they are a bit similar, and she is lonely and horny (wedding night she did't get to have is definitely on her mind)), though it makes me pissed off at her since Will is doinghis utmost for her at the time. And a bit of it is that she is pissed off at Jack for playing her. So yes, not something she could ever tell.
In a lot of ways, this movie is a bit darker than the original (both its blessing and a curse). Jack is willing to do a lot more cynical stuff and ends up being double-crossed and eaten. Elizabeth does something horrible: she leaves Jack as a scapegoat to a certain death. And Will, who is a bit of an absolutist, sees his ideals all shattered: he puts Elizabeth on a pedestal and he sees her kiss another man. He thinks of his father as this noble distant (if piratical) figure and ends up meeting him and can't free him even though he swore and he fails. Norrington ends up fulfilling the bidding of the corrupt bad guy etc etc. And at the end, it's guilt that drives Elizabeth to the rescue and as for Will, it's a kind of masochistic anger and his desire to see Elizabeth happy. Not a happy functional scenario.
On the cheerier side? Geoffrey Rush gets to finish that apple.
So yes, not as good as the original. But once the movie settles down a bit (after the first 45 minutes), quite quite fun. Especially if you want to see a half-naked, wet, and whipped Orlando Bloom. And oh baby, do I ever!
I need me some POTC and/or Orlando icons. And I am digging out my copy of Errol Flynn's Sea Hawk to satisfy the new-awakened pirate swashbuckler yen.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 08:25 am (UTC)Boo on not being as good. :-(
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Date: 2006-07-07 08:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 03:45 pm (UTC)I love Jack as a character, much less as a person.
It's not as good but it's fun. Also, I saw it at midnight, after a long day, so make of it what you will.
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Date: 2006-07-07 10:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 01:36 pm (UTC)Orlando is certainly the hottest thing I've ever seen on screen
Hotter than he was in KoH? Because I thought that was his hottest moment, probably because that was his best acting and deepest character.
Actually, the whole movie was worthwhile for the scene where Will is going to get whipped and they rip his shirt off and we see his bare back.
H/C and hotness all at once. EEEEeeeeeeee!
wedding night she didn't get to have is definitely on her mind
Had my wedding night with Orlando been cancelled I would be understandably moody myself.
When he sits there at the end, stabbing the table repeatedly with his knife? Not a happy camper. And I think he agrees to join the search for Jack (last, too)mainly because he is trying to do the best for Elizabeth and he thinks Elizabeth wants Jack but repression or not, the boy is going to explode soon. And a pissed off Will is someone I'd steer clear of.
Interesting since it looks like it's leading to a magnificent face off between Jack and Will again, much like the movies started. Only now Will is a lot more skilled and mature than when he first met Jack, which makes him a lot more formidable. And while I think Will would be willing to give Elizabeth up if it made her happy, I don't think he'd be quite as mature acting about it as Norrington originally was.
And I admit to liking both Jack and Will. They both fulfil different archetypes. Will is obviously the swashbuckling Errol Flynn substitute. I've seen critics get all over him because he plays the part too earnest, but I think that's part of his appeal to me. Will IS wide eyed and naive more than the others. Jack is the realist of the bunch and I also like him because of that. As swishy and water logged as he can be, there's still an attractiveness to him. This is obviously a survivor and it's more awkward for him to work with people (especially Will) that to do it on his own.
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Date: 2006-07-07 04:29 pm (UTC)I liked it a LOT but I did think the first one was better.
I think the thing that makes this movie feel somewhat more chaotic is the fact that things aren't straightforward any more.
In the first POTC, all three of our main characters has a clear-cut goal: for Will it was to rescue Elizabeth. For Jack it was to get back the Pearl. Elizabeth didn't have any clear action-oriented goals as she was kidnapped and not went for adventuring voluntarily, but her emotional goal was very clear and could be summed up by: WillWillWillWillWill. But this isn't the case in DMC. Jack isn't as focused this time (he is all over the place). Elizabeth's emotional state isn't as clear either: her feelings are muddied by attraction to Jack. And Will? Yes, he still wants to rescue Elizabeth (if Queen Mary said that Calais was engraved on her heart, Elizabeth is engraved on Will's), but he also wants to rescue his father (Will has a huge rescuer complex, doesn't he?) and to wreak revenge on Davy Jones. More complicated.
Will is a lot more skilled and mature than when he first met Jack, which makes him a lot more formidable.
Agreed.
Of course, I think ultimately, all the characters are maturing and they have to learn certain things to be fully functional in the world: Jack has to learn that sometimes you just have to do the right thing. Elizabeth is growng out of the spoiled girl who like pirate stories that she started POTC as. And Will needs to see the world as a lot more complicated and less black and white (this might be the source ofuncompromising heroics, but it also is a bad thing for real world) and learn that human idols are a bad thing and people are messy creatures, something he was also in the process of learning.
I don't think he'd be quite as mature acting about it as Norrington originally was.
Yes, and he is a lot crazier about her than Norrington ever was. And once thing Will can't abide is betrayal and I think that is what he ultimately would see Elizabeth's actions as.
Will is obviously the swashbuckling Errol Flynn substitute. I've seen critics get all over him because he plays the part too earnest, but I think that's part of his appeal to me. Will IS wide eyed and naive more than the others. Jack is the realist of the bunch and I also like him because of that.
I agree on the earnestness as part of the appeal. Will IS the idealist of the bunch, and no matter how experienced he will become, there is a certain absolutist right/wrong thing in him that Elizabeth and Jack don't have. He doesn't have oodles of fun swashbuckling and/or breaking the law. He is very very good at it, but for him, it's all about the goal (freeing Elizabeth, his father, whatever). Jack enjoys the process more than the goal, and Elizabeth, goal oriented or not, is prone to stopping or enjoying detours.
Actually, since I compare everything else to everything else, in Star Wars terms, Jack=Han, Will=Luke and Elizabeth=Leia. Only here Luke who is not related is all set to get the girl. Also, Will is faintly Sammyish :P
Had my wedding night with Orlando been cancelled I would be understandably moody myself.
Forget moody. I'd be using a machete. Actually I love Elizabeth herself making a reference to her being pissed off, when she points thr gun at the bad guy and he says she has to offer something more as part of the consideration balance. She tells him "you might add to it that I had to forego my wedding night" :P Especially, since while I can see Elizabeth's views on it being a bit more flexible, Will strikes me as someone who'd insist on waiting until they are married :)
H/C and hotness all at once. EEEEeeeeeeee!
Exactly. I got temporarily derailed from watching :P
Hotter than he was in KoH? Because I thought that was his hottest moment, probably because that was his best acting and deepest character.
You are right, he was probably hotter in KoH. But here he ame damn close. He is getting more attractive as he gets older, just like Jensen.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 05:03 pm (UTC)There's also the original issues Will had thinking he wasn't good enough for her.
Jack enjoys the process more than the goal, and Elizabeth, goal oriented or not, is prone to stopping or enjoying detours.
Which is why it's totally believable that Elizabeth would be at least a little attracted to Jack. Jack offers a sense of freedom and adventure that Will, no matter how good his heart or how skilled at killing things, never will. Elizabeth has to look forward to settling down and being an upstanding citizen, which would be fine for anyone other than Elizabeth. Will's sense of black and white and his general goodness and naivety can be trying for an adventurous girl.
Especially, since while I can see Elizabeth's views on it being a bit more flexible, Will strikes me as someone who'd insist on waiting until they are married
No, Will definitely wouldn't have tarnished his idol of Elizabeth or even dreamed of it, really.
He is getting more attractive as he gets older, just like Jensen.
Some guys just age elegantly. Jensen and Orlando both are. They've seemed to fill out and become a lot more overtly masculine than they were when they were younger. They're about the same age which is probably why it seems to noticable about the same time with them. Jared still looks boyish in comparison to his co-star.
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Date: 2006-07-07 05:24 pm (UTC)True. He is sensitive on that issue. Of course, Jack's a pirate so he is even less suitable, but Will's insecurities will definitely make everything worse (he wasn't insecure any more in DMC but the end of it kinda brought that crashing around his ears).
Will's sense of black and white and his general goodness and naivety can be trying for an adventurous girl.
Exactly. Plus, living up to being on a pedestal would probably get a bit trying. She is attracted to Jack with the wild and rule-breaking part of her. He fits something in her heart that even she isn't aware of: pure wanderlust. She enjoys outlawing, and he sense of morality is relative. Neither of those apply to Will.
No, Will definitely wouldn't have tarnished his idol of Elizabeth or even dreamed of it, really.
I have this image of Elizabeth being all for it and getting a bit frustrated with Will over that point :P
They've seemed to fill out and become a lot more overtly masculine than they were when they were younger.
Oh yes. They are a lot less boyish now. And since I prefer my men more masculine and less ornamental (but gorgeous in any event), that's definitely a plus.
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Date: 2006-07-07 06:23 pm (UTC)And the fact that while Jack sees her as an attractive woman, he treats her different from any man she's ever met. Jack is crude and bad and completely appealing to a girl who was forced to be a model of decency. She's no goddess to him and he treats her more as a functioning equal than someone to be handled with kid gloves. He's probably the first man she's met who's not trying to impress her or isn't wandering around pining after her.
Don't hurt that it's Johnny Depp, too.
He fits something in her heart that even she isn't aware of: pure wanderlust.
And you get the impression that she'd be completely happy just kicking off society and heading out on a ship. The thing is, I sort of see Will enjoying that too, only he has to live up to giving Elizabeth a good, respectable life. I see Will as a repressed wanderer.
I have this image of Elizabeth being all for it and getting a bit frustrated with Will over that point
I have images of her repeatedly trying to trap him in darkened rooms and getting pouty when Will obliviously goes about his day...
And since I prefer my men more masculine and less ornamental
Jensen and Orlando are becoming the best of both worlds, really. I think it's a certain hardness that's starting to come into their features and their bodies are finally catching up to look like a man in their prime instead of young boys.
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Date: 2006-07-07 07:04 pm (UTC)That's an interesting point. I wonder if, once he realizes she wants to wander, they can just go off adventuring together?
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Date: 2006-07-07 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-07 04:30 pm (UTC)And yes, the angstiness is great!
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Date: 2006-07-07 07:11 pm (UTC)What you said above about complex character goals is actually what bugged me most about the movie. It just felt TOO scattered and I never felt fully drawn in to the story. It didn't seem all that compelling in and of itself. Maybe it's setting up a hugely compelling third movie, but it just didn't seem to stand alone that well.
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Date: 2006-07-07 07:30 pm (UTC)And AMEN on more Norrington!
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Date: 2006-07-09 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-09 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 01:44 am (UTC)ITA with pretty much everything you wrote about the movie. I have never really been a big Orlando Bloom fan, but I was all about him/Will in this movie! He was all kinds of hot. I think he finally seems old enough so I don't feel like a dirty old woman for ogling him!
Perception is such a funny thing. I hadn't read any reviews of the movie beforehand, because I don't like to have my opinion colored or to be spoiled. I've read a couple since, and one in particular really amused me because it was talking about how Jack was so much at the center and Will was kind of relegated to a supporting role. And I found that so funny, because I had come out of it thinking it was really WILL'S movie, because I guess I was so captured by his character and his derring-do and meeting his father, and was all "Pffft!" about the Jack stuff so I didn't notice that as much.
I do think the movie overall suffered a bit from "middle-child" syndrome, in that it's a bridge between one and three.
And I'm concerned that the dog is gonna get eaten. My friends and I are such silly animals lovers, we were all like "Is the dog going to be rescued? Do they rescue him in Part 3???" LOL.
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Date: 2006-07-11 05:21 pm (UTC)I also thought this was more Will's movie than Jack's (unlike the first).