What's going on, guys? With Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales on the verge of releasing I figured it'd be a great time to revisit the previous films in this franchise. Like a few of the Alien movies I covered, the Pirates movies were also those movies I've been meaning to rewatch just to wrap my head around them for it'd been a long time since I last seen them. I watched them and enjoyed them when I was younger, but it was more for the entertainment value rather than the nice breakdown of why I liked them. Since I'm having such a blast with this blog I figured it'd be the perfect time to give you guys my thoughts on each film in time for the release of the fifth film. Let's kick things off about the first film, which was a blessing and a curse...wait for it.
PIRATES OF THE CARRIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003) -
I must say for today's standards compared to a lot of blockbuster films I've seen this was a pretty darn great adventure film. I mention how entertainment value was the main focus of why I liked these movies and probably most movies when I was younger, but that is definitely an aspect of what makes this film such a joy to watch. It's the true definition of swashbuckling fun in the best fashion with really well paced action that resembles the great adventurous spirit in something like Raiders of the Lost Ark. I had so much fun watching this movie and while I was invested in the action I thought the pacing for its narrative structure was very well done. For a film that was filled to the brim with so much action and adventure there were still moments to breathe and become invested in the story.
I also really loved the characters they introduced with Johnny Depp as the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow, who was very full of mystery, but still quirky in a very lovable way. He was such an incredible joy to watch on screen and a very fun character. Orlando Bloom as Will Turner was another strong heroic presence and Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Swan showcasing great hints of being more in the action rather than the typical damsel in distress. Also, Geoffery Rush was fantastic portraying the villainous and very greedy Captain Barbosa. These actors just made these characters come alive so well in this time period and it really called for perfect casting to cap off this series. Not to mention, the musical score by Klaus Badelt was incredibly memorable with so many amazing themes that really add to the action packed moments.
Verdict: A-
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006) -
I'll tell ya when this movie released back in summer 2006 I remember it being such a big deal and everyone going out and seeing it. I mean the first film was such a hit and audiences really enjoyed it, so why not want more out of the fun from the previous film? This was another I missed in the theater because at the time of its release I was a little too young to experience it in the theater. Might've been a little intense for me back then, but in later months I did end up watching the film at home and then later owning the DVD.
For some reason I remember watching this entry the most out of all films in the entire series and I guess that was due to the fact that I enjoyed this film a lot when I was a kid. More importantly, like the first does it hold up to today's standards? For me the answer's yes! Absolutely! I really enjoyed watching this movie and quite surprised how much hate this film gets and the lack of enjoyment viewers got out of it. Was it the length? Was it because it had less action and more story? That's something I'll probably investigate in my own time, but one of the major positives about Dead Man's Chest is its story.
Like I said there's less action in this entry and that's because I feel the direction Gore Vebrenski wanted to take with this movie is to make it more story driven. The first film had a story to wrap up in, but there was more action spread out over the course of that film. In this film the action's used sparingly, but, personally, I was intrigued by the story and how mysterious it all was. For example a character like Davy Jones played brilliantly by Bill Nighy does a great job of giving character mystery through his performance while also being quite menacing.
There are just aspects of this story that you wonder how certain things fell into place and if the history of such events will be revealed in the next installment. It does such a great job of giving you intrigue about this lore and why certain characters have these motivations in place and how it drives them emotionally. It leaves you wanting more out of the lore rather than more of the action. I'm serious I really don't understand the hate this film gets and that even though it is an entertaining spectacle, at its heart (no pun intended) it's the great story that's the driving force.
There also some really good CGI creations here in Davy Jones's crew. Really great motion capture work that still holds up. Unfortunately, the downside to the visuals is the Kraken up close and personal. It's cool seeing that creature in action, but when viewing it up close in the last stand off the CGI was inexcusably mediocre. Other issues I have are that there was a love triangle between the main characters I felt was shoehorned in and there are a couple scenes in the first act involving Elizabeth sneaking off on the Irish ship that felt really silly and made the film a little meandering. Other than that, I loved watching this film for its enticing lore, its well done spectacle, and really fun characters. To me it's a very underrated film and even though I think the first film is a technically better made movie, I enjoyed watching this one more and will give it the same rating as the first.
And that concludes PART 1 of my Pirates retrospective. Those are my mini reviews for the first two films, so check back in a couple days when I review At World's End and On Stranger Tides. For more updates please follow me on my social media pages. Links down below:
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read this review! As always be sure to see some movies and all that good stuff.
Take care. :-)
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