Welcome aboard, mate. This is ur Cap’n Sparrow..for the next two and a half hrs you will join me as we embark on an adventure that has everything to make it soo alive -undead ghosts and pirates, treasures and curses, fair maidens and brave swordsmen....its a sea-trip you wont regret.
And I have to say aye-aye Cap’..it sure was one fun movie, and all dues to the makers of the movie, considering the PoC’s origin. Hollywood movies are funny...they can make anything into a movie..video games like street fighter and tomb raider that get moulded into 2-odd hrs of bone cracking action. Anything that moves, flies or swims- including spiders, bats, moths, snakes, sharks, dogs , even dinos - every single known species (and some unknown ones too :-) have been converted into protagonistic movies. There are no natural calamities left to theme movies upon. And so when I heard about another movie based on, of all things, a ride in a theme park, I shook my head..pheew, that does it. And when I saw the movie, I liked it..strange, I keep saying, but I cant lie...i liked the movie.
I think the one thing the movie makers realised before making the movie was the influence its origin would bring. They seem to have been aware that they didnt have anything backing them up like a classical treasure island or a sea-trip adventure like the sea wolf. And hence they kept the theme light and funny and at the same time adventurous and romantic - just the right blend to keep u ’’un-bored’’ for the time u spend watching this.
And then theres Cap’n Sparrow. Man-o-Man, I thought that I could swear by LJ Silver as my man among pirates, any day..but here comes another character, worth every bit his salt as a pirate captain as good as old Long John. Of course we can easily see that the Capn Sparrow character is modelled after Silver himself - there are so many traits that match, couldnt be a coincidence.
Of the things I loved, it was Johnny from the beginning to the end. Johnny Depp is the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow. Hes the soul of the movie - goldplated tooth, awkward gait, obnoxious all the way down to his toenails - but u cant hate this guy..Johny Depp has done his part so well, it could put the original Jack Sparrow to shame, if there ever was one. I have wondered, if they had cast someone else as Sparrow, would the movie have been as successful? Of course I know that Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom too have their own clan of faithful fans, but still I think its the absolutely colorful portrayal of Sparrow by Depp that gives the movie its life. Keira and Orlando are not in greys either - both have put in a pretty fine effort.
Of the things I wasnt too impressed, its the undead skeletons walking the earth - has become soo beaten to death. That whole thing was a bummer. I think they took that one from the Mummies..they knew that the audience would relate to the Mummies and subconsciously their mindsets would adjust in expectation to something similiar. But they really should have come up with something more creative and original.
Of the things I noticed, was the dialogue between Commodore Norrington and Orlando Bloom at the end of the movie about taking good care of his sword as well as ’other things’ that come in his possession. I hadnt realised Norrington adored Keira that much, it didnt seem evident anywhere else in the movie. Did u notice that part?
The movie is well made, fast paced and not boring. The CGI effects are ok, though not to the level of the Mummy. The rest of the cast were wearing heavy makeups and too loud clothes, to stress the era and atmosphere of the movie, but it is bearable. Orlando did a good job as the swordsman, coming to terms with the realisation that his father was a pirate. Though I liked him better when he had the bow and arrow as his weapon instead of a sword.
The plot is also pretty ok..but one thing I noticed in the movie was that each plot proceeds only as another completes, there was no parallel development. For eg: Orlando and Sparrow go to save Keira. Until the saving, there is no much other plot development, after which abruptly a new plot starts rising and moving..Its not that its that bad a thing , just something that I noticed.
To sum up...its a movie based on a water ride in a theme park, its not a classic..it has many bits and pieces ’borrowed’ from other movies, books and locations. But when its all put together, it looks fine..pretty fine..
Maybe its true when they say that a good duplicate is better than a bad original.