And really bad eggs...

[angelophile]

Decided on a whim to go and see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 tonight. Finished work kinda late and it seemed like it'd be a good way to unwind.

So, what did I think?

In short:

When it was good it was very very very good.

But like the second installment, it suffered badly from TOO MUCH PLOT.



So, what was good about the movie?

Firstly, the performances, all sterling as has become expected from the cast.

The CGI was utterly flawless and I can't think of a single instance when I thought "hmm, that doesn't look real". Technology has really come on, but there's no mistaking that the effects were astounding.

The humour WORKED. When the movie was trying to be funny it hit the nail on the head every single time. Some deft and witty writing and smart performances meant that it got laughs in all the right places.

Geoffrey Rush as Barbosa. Managing to outshine even Johnny Depp in a scenery chewing performance that's wonderfully judged. He rocked in the first movie and he's even better here.

Managing to hit every pirate archetype in the form of the nine captains.

Keith Richards as Jack's dad. Perfectly cast but also resisting the temptation to try and act as anyone but himself. However, that was also a weakness as well, with the director laying it on a little thick with him playing a guitar, etc.

Which leads into the weaknesses.

The plot of the second movie was a rather convoluted mess with mixed nautical legends being mashed together and put through the wringer, characters hopping from ship to ship with such regularity that it was hard to follow exactly how and why they came to be there and disappointingly low on light hearted moments.

Sadly this movie follows the same path. A rather bleak mess of plots with many dark moments overshadows the fun in many places. It wasn't hard to follow if you payed attention, but the loss of two characters I was particularly fond of was disappointing. One was, at least, connected to the plot. The other, sadly, was just a waste and just seemed like a way to end a character arc which they had no use for in this movie.

The movie had the task of tying up all the dangling plotlines from the second movie. This would have been enough by itself, adding the plotline of the gathering of the pirate captains would have been plenty. But instead we also get the Calypso plotline tagged on which springs from nowhere in regards what characters it affects, along with more of the constant betrayals and ship jumping that means I was dizzy by the end of it. Some plot elements worked. (The pirates gathering for a final battle against the East India Company - great idea. Not actually having it happen - terrible idea.)

And as said, the plots were simply too dark to make this the fun ride it should have been.

All in all a mish mash. It should have been better and, like 2, with a more ruthless storyline editor it could have been.

However, for sheer thrill, spectacle and a rollocking good laugh when it should be, it's still definitely worth seeing.