journal features

movie review - Pirates of the Caribbean

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Kokubunji, 2021.09.19

Another semi-lockdown quarantine movie review with the kids. I have to say this one has aged very well, it really is an outstanding action movie worth another viewing. Unlike its sequels and the sub-genre that it seems to have spawned in recent years. The casting and direction are spot on with this thing, which comes across in the abundant chemistry between the actors. It gets a touch frenetic at times, with not enough breaks between the rapidly spinning cameras, but honestly there's more to the plot in this story than I remembered so it's no wonder. It just feels great, like the first Star Wars movie did, it looks amazing, and it has no pretense. Everyone is likeable in ways that aren't always easy.

I will say this: end-credit scenes should never, ever be plot-bearing. This punched a hole in the Avengers movies and it did so with the second or third in this series as well when Barbossa returns. Annoying!

Strongly recommended. Get a high-quality version.

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force