I finally got to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End on Memorial Day. I still kick myself for not seeing the first Pirate film in theaters. When I finally saw it on DVD it was pretty good and I eagerly awaited the sequel. Unfortunately, in my list of favorite films I saw last year (and I saw quite a few), Pirates was at the bottom. It just didn’t connect with me in the least. I know I have a built-in bias against period pieces but somehow I managed to get past that with the first. But no with the second, so Pirates 3 was the rubber match.
While I didn’t have high hopes, I really did want to like it and went in expecting to like it more than 2. Unfortunately, I didn’t like. In fact, I liked it even less than Dead Man’s Chest. It was just a dreary film going experience. Far too long. Far too indulgent. Far too wet. Far too dark. Far too ugly (enough with the creatures!). I know a lot of this is purely personal taste, but the movie just feels yucky. By the end I found myself longing for the bright, clean sequence that introduced Jack Sparrow in the film just for a reprieve. On the bright side, for the most part I did enjoy the final battle that took up the last 45 minutes or so. That saves it from being on my list of “one of the worst films of all time”. But just barely…
I know I’m in the minority with this opinion and that’s fine with me. I’m glad most people like it and glad Disney’s Pirate franchise continues strong. And I hope I like Pirates 4 (c’mon – there will be one) when the time comes. But for now, I think I need to pull out my Country Bears DVD and see what a good attraction-to-film movie looks like.
And in case you’re interested, so you can calibrate my movie going tastes, here’s my list of favorites to least favorite films so far this year:
- Spider-Man 3
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Disturbita
- Meet the Robinsons
- Last King of Scotland
- Firehouse Dog
- The Hoax
- Breach
- Fracture
- Wild Hogs
- The Invisible
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End