Pirates of the Caribbean: DMC – Random Observations

There’s really no point in my writing a full-fledged review of the most successful opening-weekend movie in history. It’s been reviewed to death, and there’s nothing I can add that would be edifying in that regard. But I do have a few opinions and observations (don’t worry, there are no spoilers) that should be worth the price of admission (to this blog, not to the movie), so here goes:

  • Once again, make sure you sit through all the credits and wait for the last scene, which will neatly address a lingering question we had after the movie proper ended. We and one other couple were the only ones to stay and see it.
  • In some ways, I preferred the first POTC to this one, as it was less frenetic and, frankly, less silly. What character development occurred in DMC served, on the whole, to lessen my affection for the characters.
  • The sequel does join the original as a shoo-in for the Most Unappealing Dental Characteristics for its year of release. We noticed in the credits that there was a single individual cited as being in charge of “dental prosthetics,” and he was no doubt one of the busiest of the crew members.
  • However, the presence of some disturbing scenery in the mouthal area didn’t stop the Hottie of the Movie nod from going to Tia Dalma, the voodoo lady character played by Naomi Harris. She’ll be in POTC 3 next year, and, frankly, you can have Keira.
  • Anyone else old enough to still get a bit of chill when the Disney theme music plays at the beginning of a movie? The first movie I can remember seeing was Snow White, and that music evokes an older and, in some ways, better time, at least as far as films are concerned.
  • Oh, did we like it? Yeah, we really liked it…but, even so, it could have been 30 minutes shorter and thus 50% better. I blame Jerry Bruckheimer, who apparently needed to justify the five (5!) assistants he had for this movie. (Well, what can I say; when you sit through the credits, you might as well read them!)

I’d love to hear your reactions to the movie. Please put a spoiler label at the front, though, if you give away anything related to the plot.

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10 comments

  2. We lked the movie, though not as much as the first. The ending totally soured the experience for my wife. If they had closed out even one of the plot threads…
    I’m hoping the next chapter redeems DMC somewhat.
    I think they could have eliminated the native sequence and given us a more satisfactory ending, while still setting up PotC3.

  3. Well, I’ll be darn, we’ll just have to go see it again and sit through those credits. We’re generally the type to do that, but we had to bee-line it to the toilets in the packed theater after the last scene. Between a 6-year-old, grandparents who just celebrated their 50th and the rest of us inbetween, we just couldn’t sit there any longer! Did you get the feeling that Keira (beautiful as she is) had a bit too much screen time? I personally can’t get enough of Jack, with his walking and running and facial expressions. He takes much of his comic improv from Charlie Chaplin. Did the special FX overshadow the part of the comedy that was intended as subtle? Word is that Keith Richards (one of the guys in The Rolling Stones/”Mom, every guy in that band is really old! That’s hilarious!”) will play Jack Sparrow’s father in the 3rd movie if he has recovered from falling out of the coconut tree in Fiji.

  4. Rachel, I’m here to serve.
    Kelly, that “native sequence” is indeed part of the movie I was thinking of when I referred to silliness. OTOH, I didn’t really have a problem with the ending as a setup for #3. In fact, I thought the way the “new” characters were introduced was quite effective in that regard.
    Becky, I didn’t have a big problem with Keira’s onscreen time; I just wasn’t too enamored with her character. I thought the character was used much more effectively in the first movie. And as far as comedic subtlety, I’m not sure there was any of that to begin with. Some of the best comedy was from the minor characters brought forward from the first movie (I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen it); the banter between the two sailors was quite excellent and I think you’re right in implying that the audience would have happily traded some of the f/x for more of that kind of thing.
    If you want to know about the final scene after the credits, email me and I’ll tell you.

  5. We saw this today and I really enjoyed it, but agree most of the comedic lines were too silly or overly contrived, not subtle enough. And way too frenetic! But I sat through the credits which went on FOREVER (even my husband walked out early, leaving me the only one in the theatre) and was happy that I did…clearly a happy ending there! I missed the dental prosthetics crew but I noticed there was also at least 2 people responsible for contact lenses. And how many accountants did you count?! There must have been at least 20!

  6. Gwynne, you might want to reconsider your interpretation of the last scene. Given the context established when Cap’n Jack was in the position shown in the last scene, I’m not sure I agree with your “happy ending” theory. 😉
    We did notice the bevy of accountants. Probably half of them were required to keep track of Jerry Bruckheimer’s, um, accounts.

  9. My children have delved into classic Johnny Depp flicks. Edward Scissorhands. MK can’t get enough of it. Don’t quite know why. My personal favorite (the music is very catchy/we own and often play the soundtrack around the house) is Chocolate. Say it with a French accent. Juliet Binoche is the female lead. You and YLB would like it, I know.

  10. We’ve seen Chocolate (it really needs to be typed with a French accent, but I don’t know how to do that) and did enjoy it. But it’s been a long time…I didn’t even remember that JD was in it.
    I’d keep an eye on MK, especially if she starts carrying around a set of pruning shears.

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