Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Hmm, it seems like this is the year of the trilogy. (Well, the year for ‘part 3’s , anyway)

Spiderman 3 is, as I’ve already said, utter abysmal crap. I had higher hopes for Pirates 3 – no idea why, really, but well, I did.

And in that context, I can’t deny, I was disappointed. Whereas the first one (and, to some degree, the second) were fun movies, where you could see that the actors involved had a good time, and where the sheer silliness took over, they still had a decent (if ridiculous) storyline. The third one had the storyline, but it didn’t have the feeling of fun and silliness. More speeches, more drama, more ‘serious’ acting and actors (pronounced actors) – but missing those vital elements of silliness and fun.

In its own right, as a pirate film, it’s still fine, and could probably stand on its own quite happily. (Better than Cutthroat Island ever did, anyway) But in comparison with the first two, it’s just nowhere near as good.

The effects are still stunning, as are a lot of the designs (I still love the design and the intricacy of the Flying Dutchman and crew) – but then, I’m an effects geek at the best of times. But it still doesn’t matter how much money and ingenuity you throw into effects if the film is still basically weak.

Although, as I’ve said, it’s not weak as a stand-alone movie, it is in comparison with 1 and 2. I can watch Pirates 1 repeatedly, purely because of it’s silliness – and the effects add an extra dimension to that as well – but this one I’d happily never see again.

So all in all, yeah, just a bit of a disappointment. And seriously bloody long. Three hours really is pushing it – and even more when the cinema does an intermission as well.