June 3, 2007
There is indeed much that is funny and spectacular and enjoyable in this film, but for me it is fatally marred by having a completely incomprehensible plot. Perhaps modern audiences no longer require a good story, or even the faintest semblance of coherence, to link the gags together - my daughter, who has now seen this twice, was unfazed by it, and said the film was brilliant even though she was not able to tell me what the story was or answer any of my many questions about it.
Other disappointments included the collapse of Tom Hollander's excellent villain, Lord Cutler-Beckett - his earlier chilling intellectual superiority faded like mist in this movie as he was clearly also befuddled about what was going on and what on earth was supposed to be motivating his character. There were too many others to list. I don't think repeated viewings will disentangle for me the Gordian knot of deals, betrayals, double-crossings, promises, and pointless endeavours, so I won't be seeing it again. The absurdity was topped by Keira Knightley winding up as the Pirate King - she clearly isn't a serious pirate, as her teeth remained gleaming white throughout.
Other disappointments included the collapse of Tom Hollander's excellent villain, Lord Cutler-Beckett - his earlier chilling intellectual superiority faded like mist in this movie as he was clearly also befuddled about what was going on and what on earth was supposed to be motivating his character. There were too many others to list. I don't think repeated viewings will disentangle for me the Gordian knot of deals, betrayals, double-crossings, promises, and pointless endeavours, so I won't be seeing it again. The absurdity was topped by Keira Knightley winding up as the Pirate King - she clearly isn't a serious pirate, as her teeth remained gleaming white throughout.