Oh. My. Gosh. Just let it die. Geze people... mainly directors and writers. The first Pirates of the Carribean was a smash hit. The gritty marriage to the pirates theme was elimitated as soon as Calypso went all Ant Man on us. There is a line that the Curse of the Black Pearl drew. A crystal clear line. And they crossed it. Now I can take the rock lobsters thing. No problem. Davy Jones was subtle stroke of genius. The Kraken was a must. If you're working the seven seas you have to have the Kraken. Simple as that. Heck I even went for the Pirate King crap. It made sense. It made a good movie.
The fourth took a turn no one saw coming. Mermaids... well played Rob Marshall. Loved Ian McShane as BlackBeard: I've always been somewhat a sucker for the seemingly heroic criminals so BlackBread couldn't ruin a pirates movie any more than Tremors could ruin my day.
Now as I'll stick to 'mum's the word' on the soudtrack, I'd like to get to the point of this post. They are making a fifth movie. A fiflth Pirates of the Carribean. Cinco.
Jack Sparrow is in the fifth one but whether it's a thirty second spotlight or a main role I haven't the slightest. There isn't much released on this yet... obviously as the movie has just stepped out of the rumor. But that, at least, is official. It's no longer a rumor. It's gonna happen people.
As the movies following the Curse of the Pearl were a growing let down... they were still entertaining and eventually they grew on me. But I still wouldn't call them a favorite. Now with the announcment of the fifth... I see only two marked roads to go down. A complete u-turn back to original traditional feel of dirty sword-fighting, sailing pirates or... they sink the ship yet once agian.
So who knows. Looking forward to seeing it though as I am a POTC fan, wherther or not they divorced tradition. A good movie... is a good movie. My fingers are crossed for a good POTC 5.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Movie Critic: Bourne Legacy
I've always liked the Bourne movies, and was pretty excited for the Legacy to come out. But reviewing the hour and some odd minutes I sat in the theater, it was missing the feel that Ultimatum and built up on.
The plot seemed a bit vague and didn't venture as deep as it could of. There wasn't much to 'figure out' as it was more of just 'get out.' There were no questions posed as a conflict... who is he? What is he? What does he want, why are they doing what they're doing, what are the bad guys bad and the good guys good etc. It was obvious. It was more of a simple 'stay alive' all questions answered. In other words the plot was no where near as intricate and entertaining as the other Bourne movies. The ending seemed more of a 'hey this works' and slapped on there.
They used a single movie for Alan Cross to accomplish what it took Bourne to do in three. From becoming enlightened to the conflict, to their classic cops and robbers chase scenes, to being home free. Granted Bourne lost his memory and would take much longer to accomplish anything to do with Blackbrair, but I found it almost insulting that they made it sound that Cross was better then Borne. Borne was the original, you don't poke that bubble.
The plot seemed a bit vague and didn't venture as deep as it could of. There wasn't much to 'figure out' as it was more of just 'get out.' There were no questions posed as a conflict... who is he? What is he? What does he want, why are they doing what they're doing, what are the bad guys bad and the good guys good etc. It was obvious. It was more of a simple 'stay alive' all questions answered. In other words the plot was no where near as intricate and entertaining as the other Bourne movies. The ending seemed more of a 'hey this works' and slapped on there.
When first announced, I was a little nervous. How could they? How could they give Bourne a legacy... give it a competition? But as information came out... I began to ease up. I was determined that no one could follow in steps of Bourne... then I began to read about Jeremy Renner. Hey this could work! I was happy. He did a fantastic job.
I was also very pleased with the character decisions. They didn't make Cross the shy but deadly Bourne... he was outgoing and didn't mind asking questions at all. He was a fun character who could take a punch. The fight and chase scenes had you rooting for Cross the whole time. I found myself talking to the armed idiots who attempted to take Cross out ... 'I wouldn't do that,' 'You might want to send more that two...' 'Dude just call the ambulance now.'
The chase scenes were just as entertaining 'although a bit hard to follow. As they kept the jittery camera in the middle of the action... I feel I could have been more impressed with the scene if the camera stuck with one angle in stead of four different angles in three seconds. Still impressive though! Score one for the chick by the way. Alan Cross deals with a severe illness and is temporarily out of commission. Meanwhile the woman tries her best to fill the role and take care of the issues at hand... the ones that don't require bare knuckles, or guns. Her personality was well rounded... and well played out. I don't know if she could throw a punch... she never got the opportunity really. Cross always showed up whether he dropped from the roof or just did a smash face and run. The plot, as short as it was, was actually pretty good. It kept you entertained and rooting for more. By the end I was waiting for the next event... but then that music played... the music played when Bourne started to swim away and the News said nobody could be found... and Nikki smiled. That music. It played... and then the movie was over. Bummer.
Would I watch it again?
Um... Duh.
Would I recommend it?
If you are a Bourne Fan... obviously. If you're just looking for a couple of hours of entertainment... yes. It's a good movie.
Do you have to watch the other three to understand this one?
Not really... but it might help. It's a separate story from the other Bourne's. Although Jason Bourne is mentioned and his name shows up a few times... clips from the previous movies and implications. BlackBriar and Treadstone are mentioned but not explained. But the writers did well to make this it's own movie, while still building a strong connection to the Bourne movies. So no... you don't have to watch the other movies to enjoy this one. But you'll probably catch more if you do.
The chase scenes were just as entertaining 'although a bit hard to follow. As they kept the jittery camera in the middle of the action... I feel I could have been more impressed with the scene if the camera stuck with one angle in stead of four different angles in three seconds. Still impressive though! Score one for the chick by the way. Alan Cross deals with a severe illness and is temporarily out of commission. Meanwhile the woman tries her best to fill the role and take care of the issues at hand... the ones that don't require bare knuckles, or guns. Her personality was well rounded... and well played out. I don't know if she could throw a punch... she never got the opportunity really. Cross always showed up whether he dropped from the roof or just did a smash face and run. The plot, as short as it was, was actually pretty good. It kept you entertained and rooting for more. By the end I was waiting for the next event... but then that music played... the music played when Bourne started to swim away and the News said nobody could be found... and Nikki smiled. That music. It played... and then the movie was over. Bummer.
Would I watch it again?
Um... Duh.
Would I recommend it?
If you are a Bourne Fan... obviously. If you're just looking for a couple of hours of entertainment... yes. It's a good movie.
Do you have to watch the other three to understand this one?
Not really... but it might help. It's a separate story from the other Bourne's. Although Jason Bourne is mentioned and his name shows up a few times... clips from the previous movies and implications. BlackBriar and Treadstone are mentioned but not explained. But the writers did well to make this it's own movie, while still building a strong connection to the Bourne movies. So no... you don't have to watch the other movies to enjoy this one. But you'll probably catch more if you do.