DMC Thoughts

[dwgm]

Dead 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:

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 veronica_rich suggested that it could be Jack himself that is her heart's desire, or it could be his freedom and lifestyle. Or it could be all of those. Pirate!

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.

Comments

[lovenorma.livejournal.com]

soidhgisudhgsdiug.
There is character development, but not the sort that fanfiction writers long for (and end up writing themselves).

i completely agree with that. and thats the only reason why i was disappointed. :(
lol.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, that's why I listed that point under negatives. Still, what a ride! There are an awful lot of positives. I, for one, can't wait to see it again!

Friended you back, btw. ;)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

The part with Bill having to whip Will was so sad - and I actually liked it as a *moment* (not for hurting Will, though). You could see Bill was tearing up, even crying, at the thought of having to do this, and then his explanation after that yes, what he did WAS the sort of compassion that would save both Will's life and his back.

[whitemunin.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see it. I did pick up and scan through a magazine yesterday that talks a little about the 3rd movie. In it, they say there's some trouble to come between Lizzie and Will, and it's due to Jack. Hmmmm.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, I clearly saw that Bill did it to spare Will even more greivous harm. I'm just squicked by that sort of thing. I'm notoriously whimpy about violence, and often won't see a movie if there's much of it, particularly if it's too real -- war movies and the like.

I am so much looking forward to going again. Almost went today, but then decided to just think about it for a day or two. A big group of us are going on Sunday, though not to the El Capitan as we'd first planned as they are sold out.

Have you seen it a second time yet? There's so much to it, I think a second viewing (at least) is needed to really absorb everything.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

The love triangle thing, yeah, that's an interesting development. I wasn't expecting it to be that way. I'm a J/E shipper (when I'm not a J/OFC shipper) and I'm quite ecstatic about it, really. I do like W/E too, but I found the dynamic between Jack and Elizabeth more interesting right from my first viewing of CotBP.

It'll be interesting to see where it all goes in 3.

[lovenorma.livejournal.com]

haha. i saw DMC at midnight. and today at 4.

and thanks for the friend back. yaaay!

you are such an amazing writer. fer serious.
:P

[lovenorma.livejournal.com]

ps. oh and a second viewing is def. needed. trust me.
when i saw it at midnight, i didnt get shit. i was so lost.
so i actually got it the second time.
=]

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it again yet. I think we're going on Sunday ...

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

It's not Jack's fault. He might help it along, but it's not Jack's doing. You'll see ... *G*

[bizarra.livejournal.com]

I loved the new Disney logo at the beginning :-)

And yeah.. I am looking forward to seeing where they take the triangle.

And I too am starting to be persuaded by the OT4. LOL

I may go see it again tomorrow.. but given the fact that the theatre was packed like a sardine tin, I may wait till next weekend to see it again. (Or Sunday. LOL)

It definately needs a second viewing. Hell I was still finding new things and new interpretations in the first movie after the 5th viewing or so. LOL

[leblacklabel.livejournal.com]

Really wanted to love the movie but I really hated it with a passion.

Though I adore scruffy Norrington.

[erinya.livejournal.com]

Agreed on almost all points. Although I found the whipping scene very affecting and effective. Will and Bootstrap's interaction made me sniffly.

I don't know when I'm going to stop squeeing over the J/E. I never thought my ship would be borne out so plainly in canon. The ship is now more text than subtext. God, they are hot together.

*seeing the movie again tomorrow*

[whitemunin.livejournal.com]

I'm an enthusiastic J/E shipper, so I'll love to see where this goes. I agree about W/E, too, but the dynamic between Jack and Elizabeth is much more sizzling.

[whitemunin.livejournal.com]

If I was Elizabeth, I'd take Jack in a heartbeat, gold teeth and all. ; )

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I noticed the...um...thoughts you posted last night. Perhaps I would have felt similar dismay and betrayal if I'd not been thoroughly spoiled -- pretty much knew the major plot points that were coming. Hopefully it'll all come right again in 3.

Yes, scruffy Norrington is wonderful. There is much room for fanfiction between the time Norrington joins the Pearl's crew and their arrival at the island where the chest is.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I found the whipping scene very affecting and effective.

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!!!

[erinya.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth is the kick-ass female character certain sectors of this fandom love to hate. Off of Honorat's meta essay, Liz was more of a hero in DMC than either Jack or Will. She's always been a bit of ruthless...willing to do whatever is necessary, and Jack has always known this...and I really want to go on a OMGSEXIST rant when people bash on her for being active rather than passive, but I won't. Much.

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

[leblacklabel.livejournal.com]

The worst part was I was heavily spoiled and knew mostly what was coming but figured I'd only been told the bare bones and when I got to see the actual product Thursday night... it was exactly what I'd been told yet not at all with the finesse I'd expected.

I know it's part one of part three, which is good. I'm going to cross my fingers and spin in a circle.

Oh yes, this new Norrington makes my unfinished James fic levels better actually. I had been avoiding writing more of it because I knew things were going to change and wanted to see them onscreen before continuing on. Made things all sorts of interesting in that department.

[elessil.livejournal.com]

I also really loved Jack doing the Captainly things. I'm not as squeeful about th emovie as I'd expected to be (strangely, the more time passes, the unhappier I get with it, normally it's the other way around for me), but there were SO many AWESOME things in it, and you mentioned a lot of them.

I guess I just want to see 3 NOW so I can actually say something about the story and character arcs as a whole.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I was still finding new things and new interpretations in the first movie after the 5th viewing or so.

I think we'll find the same goes for the second one. I know I enjoyed it just as much on my third viewing -- understood more of the dialogue (oh those difficult accents!) and saw much more detail. Also just felt much more laid back about it, just sat back and enjoyed. A certain suspension of disbelief is called for in both the movies and I think the critics and even the fans tend to forget that. Many of the same criticisms that were leveled at CotBP are being thrown at this one with a vengence, like people forgot in these three years that it's a popcorn muncher, not to be taken too seriously. You can take it that way, in fanfic, but really that's A/U to the tone of the movie.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

She's always been a bit of ruthless...willing to do whatever is necessary, and Jack has always known this

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 honorat said, that's a real kiss, however divided in heart she might be. It's admiration, appreciation, even love, and it's also insurance that what needs to occur does occur. And Jack isn't surprised by the kiss (he's Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?), or by the shackle (Pirate!).

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!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I want the DVD and deleted scenes and commentaries NOW and #3 shortly thereafter. *G*

I think the movie actually improves on multiple viewings. I've seen it three times now, and am up for a fourth any day. A big group of us have tickets for the El Capitan on the 22nd, but I doubt if I'll be able to wait that long. :D

[bizarra.livejournal.com]

I saw the J/E too. It loved it wildly in the first movie and am thrilled with it in the second one.

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...

[bizarra.livejournal.com]

LOL I So wish we could get together and see it... but I jsut can't with my job. :-(

[elessil.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are absolutely right. Actually, I want a DVD like the LOTR ones, with Extended Edition, scenes built in and everything. *purrs*

That might well be. Unfortunately, I can't see the movie again until August - the Austrian opening is only on the 27th, and I am gone on holidays then, so the next chance I'll get to see it is weeks away. I was lucky enough to be in London at my cousin's for my first viewing on 6th July, but the second(and further) viewing will have to wait for a while. I considered downloaded the cam (as I'll see it again in the cinema ANYWAY, and WILL buy whatever is the most extensive DVD edition they throw at me), but the caps I've seen are too crappy for words.