watching movies one cup at a time

It should be titled “At Idea’s End” because they are really pushing it this time. While the first two POTC movies were fun, swashbuckling adventures, this third installment veers WAY off course into an overly-complicated plot and absurd scenarios that are more distracting than entertaining.

It starts off with Jack Sparrow being dead and the evil british military dude from the second film chasing down all the pirates and killing them. I don’t remember why or how or why I should care. Jack’s friends of course go to rescue him through some weird waterfall or something. Jack is in purgatory? Limbo? Aruba? Whatever. Boring. Don’t care. I didn’t get how they got there or how they got back. Somehow Jack is alive again and all the “pirate kings” have to get together and figure out how to stop the evil british military dude. This is followed by the witch lady turning into the 50ft. woman, a big whirlpool showing up, Orlando Bloom joining the bad guys but not really cuz he joins back with the good guys but then again with the bad guys…. or something, and Keira just gets mad and yells and doesn’t know if she loves Orlando Bloom’s character but then agrees to marry him immediately.

This story is exhausting. And I REALLY don’t want to have to work that hard on a frickin’ film based on a theme-park ride. I liked the first film and I loved the second movie, Dead Man’s Chest. That film was humorous, exciting, and clever while being very entertaining. It didn’t get too complicated and the story had an element of sense to it. Plus they stayed in the Carribean. In the third film, they are all over the place! Who cares about pirates in Hong Kong? I’ll go see “Pirates of Hong Kong” if I want that. Just too much. Oh and let’s not even go there with that jacked-up subplot involving the witch lady really being some kind of sea goddess. Huh?

I did enjoy Johnny Depp as always. He’s fun to watch no matter what. And I must say, Keith Richards was surprisingly good. I expected his cameo to be more gimmicky and pointless. But he played it very well. I bought it.

Somewhere along the way while Disney was counting their millions, they lost track of this franchise. I doubt there will be another one but if there is, I hope they keep it on target and get back to what people enjoy about these movies - the fun thrill ride. Not the pages and pages of story that gets put on it.