DMC Thoughts
Jul. 7th, 2006 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dwgmDead Man’s Chest
Yes, it’s long, but like CotBP it’s a great ride for those 2 ½ hours. Here are my first impressions...
Positive, in no particular order:
The new Disney logo at the beginning. Shiny.
The whole beginning: the rain in the tea cups; Elizabeth, beautiful and tragic in her gold dress; Will, romantically handsome in his own beautiful wedding clothes; the grim (and unscrupulous) forces of authority arriving and ruining the wedding; Governor Swann, the loving father, powerless to help. It was a thrill seeing each character appear on the screen again.
Jack blowing the crow away – got a huge laugh, that did.
The Black Pearl at all points, though she is sadly scruffy looking still. But so so beautiful anyway. Laying on her side at the cannibal island. Moving across the water, patched black sails like storm clouds. Being dragged to the depths with her equally beautiful captain.
Jack doing Captainly Things – navigation; staggering about the ship searching for more rum and finding Bootstrap (and not making much of a fuss about it, as though such things happen all the time in his world); running through the lower decks shouting orders at crew, asleep in their hammocks.
All the Tall Ship Love going on.
The whole cannibal island sequence, and roaring with laughter at the bone cages swinging about.
The rum jokes. There were just enough. And Johnny delivers them perfectly.
Gibbs <3<3<3, singing Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum, supporting Jack, watching his back, being the first to sign on to go after him at the end.
Cotton (we needed more of him, though) and Parrot, who was even better than in CotBP.
Marty <3<3<3
Norrington. To quote myself: "If you're expecting the business-as-usual Commodore, you're out of luck. This Norrington has fallen on hard times but is determined to remedy that and has his own agenda for doing so. He's both less reserved and more cynical, a dangerous combination in a man of his abilities. I am very much looking forward to seeing where his character goes in the third movie."
Tia Dalma: Very exotic, and interesting. Love the “knowing” bit. Love the jar of dirt. Love her house in the swamp (which looks straight out of the ride).
Plot: convoluted, but understandable, and there is much room for fanfiction expansion. A few examples:
Jack being Jack: always, always delightful, still a pirate, and a good man -- yes, "in spite of all evidence to the contrary."
Davy Jones and his crew: brilliant, amazing CGI, particularly Davy Jones. Daughter![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
weemonkey6 was utterly amazed at him, the way he looks so real.
weemonkey6 also pointed out that the Kraken is equally spectacular, visually and sound effects-wise both. Amazingly real.
The three way sword fight and Lizzie shrieking and throwing stones and even trying to pretend to faint in order to distract her men from this explosion of pent up anger and resentment.
Pintel and Rigetti: I was glad they came back for this one, though Jack's reaction to their presence isn't defined and would have been nice to see.
The Kiss, and Jack and Lizzie understanding each other. Perfect.
The other kiss, Lizzie’s ecstatic greeting of Will on Isla de las Cruces. Yes, she loves him. (She also loves Jack.) (And possibly Norrington. I am totally being swayed toward an OT4.)(And Keira is so worthy – she is one hot actress, perfect for this role, with all these gorgeous men.)
The finale, which blew me away entirely even after having heard about it. Jack is finally unable to run away any longer and turns and faces his destiny in order to save the rest of them. "It's just a ship," he says, and though it breaks his heart to utter the words, he knows it's true: the Pearl is just a hull and a deck and sails in the end, but these people are his crew, his friends. Lizzie helps, in her piratical way, but it’s Jack who came back, on his own. *bounces ecstatically, remembering*
Negative, in no particular order...
Crows picking out eyeballs of still living prisoners. Ewww. Fortunately this is brief.
Will being whipped, and by (the admittedly unwilling) Bootstrap, no less. Although this scene wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Davy Jones and his crew. They are really icky, and there is quite a lot of footage devoted to them in the movie.
Cutler Becket, the man we love to loathe (the actor was the awful Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice).
This is definitely the first half of a movie, darker in tone and yet more antic than PotC1. There is character development, but not the sort that fanfiction writers long for (and end up writing themselves).
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'll probably think of more later, but these were my first impressions. The movie succeeds admirably as a summertime popcorn muncher and pull-out-the-stops storybook showcase of all things piratical and nautical. It is a worthy sequel to CotBP as, even as long a movie as it is, it emulates that first movie in leaving us with a hunger for more.
Yes, it’s long, but like CotBP it’s a great ride for those 2 ½ hours. Here are my first impressions...
Positive, in no particular order:
The new Disney logo at the beginning. Shiny.
The whole beginning: the rain in the tea cups; Elizabeth, beautiful and tragic in her gold dress; Will, romantically handsome in his own beautiful wedding clothes; the grim (and unscrupulous) forces of authority arriving and ruining the wedding; Governor Swann, the loving father, powerless to help. It was a thrill seeing each character appear on the screen again.
Jack blowing the crow away – got a huge laugh, that did.
The Black Pearl at all points, though she is sadly scruffy looking still. But so so beautiful anyway. Laying on her side at the cannibal island. Moving across the water, patched black sails like storm clouds. Being dragged to the depths with her equally beautiful captain.
Jack doing Captainly Things – navigation; staggering about the ship searching for more rum and finding Bootstrap (and not making much of a fuss about it, as though such things happen all the time in his world); running through the lower decks shouting orders at crew, asleep in their hammocks.
All the Tall Ship Love going on.
The whole cannibal island sequence, and roaring with laughter at the bone cages swinging about.
The rum jokes. There were just enough. And Johnny delivers them perfectly.
Gibbs <3<3<3, singing Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum, supporting Jack, watching his back, being the first to sign on to go after him at the end.
Cotton (we needed more of him, though) and Parrot, who was even better than in CotBP.
Marty <3<3<3
Norrington. To quote myself: "If you're expecting the business-as-usual Commodore, you're out of luck. This Norrington has fallen on hard times but is determined to remedy that and has his own agenda for doing so. He's both less reserved and more cynical, a dangerous combination in a man of his abilities. I am very much looking forward to seeing where his character goes in the third movie."
Tia Dalma: Very exotic, and interesting. Love the “knowing” bit. Love the jar of dirt. Love her house in the swamp (which looks straight out of the ride).
Plot: convoluted, but understandable, and there is much room for fanfiction expansion. A few examples:
Little is said about Norrington’s relationship with Jack and the Pearls, yet Jack takes him and Lizzie along to dig up the chest so there is obviously some positive interaction between him and Jack during the voyage.
The compass points to Jack when Lizzie holds it and
Governor Swann <3<3<3-- there's a lot going on with him, and we barely see any of it.
Jack being Jack: always, always delightful, still a pirate, and a good man -- yes, "in spite of all evidence to the contrary."
Davy Jones and his crew: brilliant, amazing CGI, particularly Davy Jones. Daughter
weemonkey6 was utterly amazed at him, the way he looks so real.weemonkey6 also pointed out that the Kraken is equally spectacular, visually and sound effects-wise both. Amazingly real.The three way sword fight and Lizzie shrieking and throwing stones and even trying to pretend to faint in order to distract her men from this explosion of pent up anger and resentment.
Pintel and Rigetti: I was glad they came back for this one, though Jack's reaction to their presence isn't defined and would have been nice to see.
The Kiss, and Jack and Lizzie understanding each other. Perfect.
The other kiss, Lizzie’s ecstatic greeting of Will on Isla de las Cruces. Yes, she loves him. (She also loves Jack.) (And possibly Norrington. I am totally being swayed toward an OT4.)(And Keira is so worthy – she is one hot actress, perfect for this role, with all these gorgeous men.)
The finale, which blew me away entirely even after having heard about it. Jack is finally unable to run away any longer and turns and faces his destiny in order to save the rest of them. "It's just a ship," he says, and though it breaks his heart to utter the words, he knows it's true: the Pearl is just a hull and a deck and sails in the end, but these people are his crew, his friends. Lizzie helps, in her piratical way, but it’s Jack who came back, on his own. *bounces ecstatically, remembering*
Negative, in no particular order...
Crows picking out eyeballs of still living prisoners. Ewww. Fortunately this is brief.
Will being whipped, and by (the admittedly unwilling) Bootstrap, no less. Although this scene wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Davy Jones and his crew. They are really icky, and there is quite a lot of footage devoted to them in the movie.
Cutler Becket, the man we love to loathe (the actor was the awful Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice).
This is definitely the first half of a movie, darker in tone and yet more antic than PotC1. There is character development, but not the sort that fanfiction writers long for (and end up writing themselves).
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'll probably think of more later, but these were my first impressions. The movie succeeds admirably as a summertime popcorn muncher and pull-out-the-stops storybook showcase of all things piratical and nautical. It is a worthy sequel to CotBP as, even as long a movie as it is, it emulates that first movie in leaving us with a hunger for more.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-08 05:30 pm (UTC)Well, I did too, I just hate scenes of flogging -- have ever since I was little and was taken to shows like Ben Hur and Mutiny on the Bounty. Pretty much scarred for life by those movies. What were my parents thinking of?
Re: J/E -- I am with you entirely!!!! What a nice surprise that was -- I really didn't expect it as Jack E. over at BP Sails was so adamant that no, there was nothing between them but betrayal. WRONG!!! *does backflips* Yes, they are hot together, I thought so from my first viewing of CotBP, and to see it right up there on the screen makes me quite ecstatic.
I am a trifle dismayed to see some really virulent E-bashers expounding on LJ, but I guess that's to be expected. There was always a certain amount of it (as you know), and the events of this movie were bound to stir up that anthill.
So happy I have lots of J/E icons, including several of your beautiful ones, btw. I'm getting LOTS of use out of them!!!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-08 06:45 pm (UTC)I think to some extent you could see the J/E moments either way...but still, I'm pretty sure Keira was playing attraction, not feigned attraction. I thought that in the island scene from the first movie, too, but it's much more apparent in DMC. SHE WANTS HIM. XD
no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 11:47 pm (UTC)Exactly. He alone of the three wouldn't expect her to be something she's not -- nor be surprised at what she's capable of. As
And yes, of course she wants him. I, too, saw the J/E dynamic from my first viewing of CotBP.
She was so great in DMC. Must see it again, soon!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-12 04:30 am (UTC)I too am glad that Praite Liz is finally coming to the fore. She's always felt shackeled herself by the genteel life. Its boring to her, thus she always escaped into the fantasy of pirates.
She always had been.. this was a young girl singing Yo Ho Yo Ho a Pirate Life For me, in the opening shot of the trilogy. Foreshadowing, I say...