PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007) - ***
Am I the only one who wanted to giggle, in a perverted way, because of how a Disney-banner movie opening up with people being hanged, in a nice Jewish Holocaust assembly style, and with a 8 year-old kid taking the plunge himself.
And remember, Disney turned down BACK TO THE FUTURE and its $200 million back in the early 1980s because of the infamous mother/kid kissing scene. Wow, what a long time ago.
But really, what a ballsy opening for such a "family" adventure popcorn fest, and its probably why I don't tolerate anytime someone tries to defend Michael Bay.
Why?
Because if Bay had even tried to shoot the insane ultra-big budget kitchen sink-included climax, it would been done in ugly-ass orange camera filter, ADHD-inspired rapid fire editing that turns whatever awesome action sequence into an unintelligible mess, and some crappy one-liners.
But Verbinski, he with his editors somehow keep the action-narrative steady and with a firm grip even when I'm sure a good portion of the audience wasn't exactly clear what was happening, but like Boone and Otter from ANIMAL HOUSE...
"Germans?!?" "Forget it, he's rolling."
Thank you boys. Maybe the rock n roll fun editing tempo scheme of DEAD MAN'S CHEST is missing with AT WORLD'S END, its equal to the first film in thrills, joys, and some intense action (just luckily not as afoot and loose as the first film.)
Besides, the Keith Richards cameo is a laugh riot.
Interestingly, if what I remember is TRUE, the ending of AT WORLD'S END was changed from script to the final film. You wanna know the difference?
Warning, Spoiler:
In the movie, Will Turner (Orlando ElfBoy Bloom) stabs the heart of Davey Jones and becomes the new lord of the seas.
In the script that I was told about last year, the 10 years/1 day and green light myth keys were kept....except it was JOHNNY DEPP who became immortal, riding out for the rest of eternity as a free pirate on the waters, and a guaranteed legend.
This was altered probably because Bruck Boy wants to open a loophole for a possible 4th PIRATES movie...and to write out a few people who probably wouldn't come back (and save millions).
Which ending would have been better? The Depp ending makes absolutely logical sense (and really the first 2/3rds of the film seemed to set this up) while the final ending is a good attempt at a mythical ending. Certainly a good debate topic.
