Still scratching your head over “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End,” the second and third films in the swash-buckling franchise?
You’re not alone.
Even star Johnny Depp wasn’t quite sure what was going on in the last two films. Depp tells Entertainment Weekly of exchanges he repeatedly had with director Gore Verbinski during the production of the films, which were shot back to back.
“I don’t really know what this means,” Depp would inform Verbinski.
“Neither do I, but let’s just shoot it,” Verbinski answered.
When your star and director haven’t a clue what’s happening in a film, what chance does the audience have?
Depp certainly hopes this confession will make you more agreeable to “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” the fourth film in the franchise. The actor swears the new film is leaner and more comprehensible than the past two chapters. We’ll have to take him at his word until May 20, the day “Tides” hits theaters.
(Photo: Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) attempts a quick getaway from yet another precarious situation in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”. Photo credit: Peter Mountain ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
And to think I was confused and hated the FIRST overly long film in the franchise. Sadly for Depp, I won’t be ponying up any rupees to see the last film in the series.
I think the problem is that Verbinski only had enough inspiration for the first movie, and then when it was a huge hit and the studio demanded sequels, he just decided to throw out ideas and themes he liked and hoped that they would fit.
For example, he’s mentioned in interviews that he liked the idea of making an evil corporation the villain for the sequels (as if that cliche hasn’t been done to death already), so he added in the East India Trading Co. as the bad guys.
The problem is, he then had to twist the entire narrative around to make the bad guys (Barbossa and the pirates) into the good guys, which negated the moral themes of the first movie. Not to mention that the East India Trading Co. made for a wimpy group of villains, mainly because unlike the pirates, they weren’t actually guilty of doing anything wrong. It’d be like George Lucas following up “Star Wars” with a sequel where Darth Vader and his troops join Luke and the rebels to fight together against the Ewoks.
JimmyC, there is nothing — NOTHING!!! — wrong with that Star Wars idea.
Is this to become the new marketing trend in Hollywood? Apologize for the previous installment and tell us that we can trust them not the yank the football before we kick it this time a la Tranformers 3?
Modern Hollywood at work (ugh)…
I’d rather they apologized and tried again, than their old practice of letting promising franchises die because they’re embarrassed by a bad installment or two. And it’s weird, I usually hate the “evil corporation” trope in movies, but I actually cracked up when I realized Pirates was using it, dressed, so to speak, in period costume. Were they trying to make a serious point?
If Verbinski didn’t know what it meant, who was in charge? Who write the scripts? Who edited the movies? Who bankrolled them? That’s just weird, but it may explain how we get so many large, loud, CGI and shaky-cam movies that make no sense.