Pirates 3

Having now seen all three movies within a fairly reasonable time period, I take back part of my rant about character development. I don't necessarily like Elizabeth any better than after the second movie, and Jack Sparrow still isn't nearly as funny.. the entire third movie keeps the tone of the second rather than the comedy of the first. I wouldn't rate it with the first, but it's hard to compare, since they aren't entirely the same type of movie.. I do like it better than the second.

(Highlight to read more, because I guarantee, there will be spoilers).

Every character in this movie seems to have problems with constancy, not only with the people they love, but with everyone they happen to have any sort of relationship with. As constancy/loyalty/call it what you will is something I very strongly value, I found it hard to like any of the characters in the movie. I wouldn't have been interested in the outcome if it weren't for the fact that I'd followed them through two previous movies. I am, however, happy with the resolution at the end; it may be only once every ten years, but if Will and Elizabeth keep returning to see each other (and stay loyal to each other) I will be happy. Of course, it also means they can easily mess up this resolution by including Will and Elizabeth together in a sequel. One or the other could fit into a movie sometime in an intervening ten years, but their story is concluded. I'm surprised but not upset that it wasn't a generic, happy every after conclusion, either. Instead, they found a way for Will to honor both his commitment to Elizabeth and his (rash.. but I'll make allowances for family) oath to his father. I think the general conclusion the movie makes is that all the stabbing everyone in the back, changing sides back and forth, watching out for only oneself, etc etc etc, is wrong, but at times it's hard to tell except that it ends well. Since our culture doesn't seem sure either, the way everything from love to strong friendships to business relations mean absolutely nothing as soon as one person changes a bit or changes their mind, at least it's a good reflection.

Even Jack gives up his chance at eternity to help out Will and Elizabeth, for once not acting only for his own benefit. I'm not sure what to think about the scenes with Jack while he's dead; it should, in theory, especially with my studies and fields of interest, have been obvious that it was simply showing Jack having to live with himself in the afterlife or something along those lines, yet I remained completely confused throughout those scenes and my nearest guess was that he'd simply gone crazy(ier) upon dying. That, or the afterlife was not following regular rules and somehow strange, which would fit the movie's world well enough anyway. Something was missing either in my thinking or in the movie itself because it took someone else to point out the "obvious" to me. It's likely that the movie asks you to accept so much in the way of changing the way the world works that it becomes easier to accept a strange afterlife as well, even in place of a more real-world normal interpretation. And I've had a lot of experience placing myself into the workings of various worlds.

For little details, I missed the ruins from the second.. but I really like the riddle maps! Wouldn't that be fun?