I love action/adventure films. Ever since Stars Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark flashed up on the screen 25+years ago, my first love has been the action film. The second Pirates film while fun, still left me wanting more.
Wow. What a mess.
It’s been about a week since I saw “Pirates II: Dead Man’s Chest” and I’m still trying to digest it all.
I’m confused because, as of this posting it’s made $330 million and I have to admit, I had a great time seeing it, but there’s something about it that just doesn’t sit right with me.
I really really liked the first film. I thought it had a great story (actually, if I remember right, it’s got a couple of stories that are all fully developed and realized) in addition to being a lot of fun.
This latest is fun…to a point. But without any purpose or deep underlying meaning to it, I found myself drifting off. I used to joke with a good friend of mine that when a movie got really bad, I’d start to look around and admire the architecture of whatever multiplex I was in at the time.
I had a good look at the theater I saw Pirates II in.
***spoiler alert***
Well, first off, it has got to have some of the best CG animation I’ve seen in a loooong time. I used to feels superior to most SFX animators because the lip sync on their characters always looked fake - it was always wrong. But now…now after seeing Pirates and the slam bang amazing kick ass job they did on the facial animation in that film…especially that old guy coming out from the wall…made me wish I was working at ILM. They’ve surpassed the great classic Disney animators of the last century.
That being said, the story is a complete mess.
Yes, it’s not fair because it’s only the first half of a two part story. You can’t read half a screenplay and expect to be able to have constructive criticism for it, but come on - at least give us something!
Besides, I think there is a way you can write a sequel/prequel and still have it be it’s own complete story. “The Empire Strikes Back” is a perfect example. You can watch that film and feel completely satisfied that you’ve seen one story. You don’t feel like something’s missing. Sure, you worry about what’s going to happen to everyone, but it’s not the same feeling you get from Pirates II - that nagging, “Is that it?” feeling.
And they make things worse by almost throwing in some deeper story. I mean, for the most part, it’s just a tale - this happens, then this happens, and then this happens, etc. etc. etc. One point logically moves on to the next without any greater deeper meaning.
But then, right towards the end, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Elizabeth Swann(Keira Knightley) have this classic Main Character/Impact Character conversation, “You and I are not so different” I believe Jack says to her. As the Dramatica Theory of Story points out:
“We’re Both Alike, You and I…”The Main and Obstacle Characters are counterparts. They represent the two principal sides to the argument of the story. Because they are dealing with the same issues a case can be made that they are not too far apart. This often results in such familiar lines as “We’re both alike,” “We’re just two sides of the same coin,” “I’m your shadow self,” and so on. In contrast, though they are concerned with the same things, they are coming at them from completely opposing views. This leads to common line such as “We’re nothing alike, you and I,” or “We used to be friends until you stepped over the line.”
Well, this is usually great stuff…if it’s paid off!
The problem is, this is the only mention of it anywhere in the entire story…and it happens right near the end. So all of a sudden she has this dark selfish streak in her like Jack?! Huh? Where did that come from?!
If you bring this sort of thing into a story, and then just drop it, it’s very frustrating for an audience. They want to know what the greater meaning is - it’s the reason they go to movies in the first place (well, after popcorn and explosions and good-looking actors) so you should give it to them!
“Ahhh…here’s the missing throughlines…”
I’m hoping, and pretty much expect, that Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott will pay this off in the third film. They are great screenwriters and their wordplay website has been a source of great inspiration to me in my writing endeavors. So I have no doubt that it is paid off.But it’s so unsatisfying for the audience now, and probably the reason why so many feel let down by the story. And why I feel so ehhh…ambivalent towards it as a movie.
If you’re going to go for something deeper in a story (and you really should - which is what application of Dramatica theory to writing is all about) then you need to go for something deeper. Just don’t hint at it.
Play it out throughout the whole film and give us a greater purpose for our being there.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Aimee // Jul 30, 2006 at 7:46 am
I haven’t seen the second, and I’m surprised to hear you found the first Pirates movie to be fully formed. They lost me to the architecture during the cave sequence.
2 jamesrhull // Aug 4, 2006 at 12:44 pm
Well, I’m not sure about the first movie, but my impression is that it was…and that there was more than one movie in it.
I’ll have to analyze it sometime when I get a chance.
3 the most important relationship in a romantic story // Feb 16, 2007 at 4:14 pm
[...] both isolated shut-ins (the whole “You and I are alike” thing that I talked about in my analysis of Pirates II) but whereas his limitation of having to stay away from other people is real (his bones will [...]
4 Rosie Powell // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:50 pm
“That being said, the story is a complete mess.”
Really? How? You haven’t convinced me.
5 Jim // Apr 8, 2008 at 10:32 am
I agree - this analysis leaves much to be desired. In my defense, I think it was one of the very first articles I ever attempted where I tried to voice my opinion on the structure of a story.
I still maintain the same opinion that the story had major structural problems (that carried over into the 3rd film, unfortunately), but I’d really have to spend much more time than I’m able to right now to explain exactly why.
Perhaps in a future article I’ll try and take a look at all three films.
I should point out too that I really enjoyed the “Pirates” films and have watched them a couple of times for the pure entertainment value. Films don’t have to have great stories in order to be enjoyed (although it certainly can’t hurt!).
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