Preparing to Set Sail

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is now showing here in Manila theaters. As much as I want to just go off and watch it the second I quit work, I'm a bit wary of the almost 3-hour running time and the prospect of going home past midnight. In any case, that I'm going to watch this the first chance I get is a given- I've been waiting for this film the first time I saw Jack Sparrow leap into the Kraken's maw. Certainly I've been anticipating AWE more than Shrek 3 and Spider-Man 3, both of which disappointed me. Pirates is, I realize, the Star Wars of our present day. A swashbuckling saga with the rascally pirate in the lead instead of a wussy farm boy. But hopefully, this, the third chapter, won't be another Return of the Jedi.

Despite a lot of negative reviews with guys complaining about how they can't understand what's happening, I am hopeful. It's infuriating when some hack on some site bashes a movie and writes all of one paragraph just saying he couldn't figure out what was going on. IF YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO REVIEW IT. Understand what you're reviewing, 'reviewers'... that's your job. Sheesh. Good thing Harry Knowles at Ain't It Cool gave the movie a good thumbs up and a nice review for a change. So I'm stoked going into this one.

I definitely love the franchise, for the record. I do have my reservations about how the film can meander, but I do appreciate the length of the movies, the extended dialogies and sequences- it just makes it more detailed and, for the lack of a better word, exhaustive. You certainly get enough of each character, from Jack and Will and Elizabeth to Gibbs and Marty and Jack the Undead Monkey. The production and art direction are flawless, and just feels so consistent throughout the first two films. AWE looks to up the ante in a big, big way, with huge setpieces and new locations. The fantasy element is also given a boost, with more creatures from Davy Jones' crew, armies of colorful pirates and intriguing new concepts like the Pirate Lords and the Brethren of the Coast. It all just proves that making an MMORPG based on the Pirates world not a bad idea at all. I love this world, and the third movie looks to show you a lot more of it in this big budget, slam-bang finale.

Expect a review soon as soon as I watch it. I promise, it won't take three hours to read. Mehehe.