Spring Break
Trilogies invade summer theatres, some casualties
Theaters were packed to the gills this summer with swashbuckling action and heart-wrenching comedy.
by Jordan Holtzman-Conston
Features | 7/12/07
Posted online at 1:31 AM EST on 8/28/07
In ancient Inca the word "summer" can be defined as either "summer" or alternatively "multi-million dollar movie.". While both definitions are formally considered correct it's the latter that has become synonymous with the months between May and September and generally defines an American Summer, wet hot or regular. Whether it is three-peat, three-quel, or three-logy, whichever hilariously clever combo- word you chose to define the third and final installment in a series of movies was certainly used time and time again this past summer. By the time Mod dwellers stop regretting not taking an air-conditioned Ziv, count them, eight trilogies will have been completed. Some happy, some sad, and others super bad, this was the time to say goodbye to Danny Ocean, Agent Lee, Jason Bourne and of course Captain Jack Sparrow once and for all.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End returned to the double-crossing, swash buckling savy ways of the original. At World's EndIt kept a good distance from the repeated jokes and semi-stale plot twists of its predecessor, Dead Man's Chest and solidified the Pirates series as more than just a "lucky first", flukey first film. Captain Jack begins the movie trapped in the white light of purgatory, neither dead nor alive, sane or insane, practically the same as he's always been. With the help of the ultra- talented Orlando Bloom as William Turner, and the banging banging-hot Keira Knightly playing Elizabeth Swann, the three escape from the other side of the world, reunite the eight pirate lords, and ultimately inherit the combination codes to Davey Jones' locker.
While Sparrow, Swann and Turner excel in their roles, AWE was swept away by Geoffrey Rush as the mutinous first mate Barbosa. While Sparrow's jazzy antics grew somewhat tired throughout Dead Man'sM ChestC, the return of Barbosa as a lead pirate, tricking and treating his way to the top, added the spark that made Pirates 3 more like the original, not the lackadaisical sequel. AWE concludes sentimentally, as it should, but with a surprisingly depressing ending, leaving the audience with a whirlpool of confused emotion. AWE played to the strengths of its predecessors, avoided too many clichés, and taught us all the valuable everyday life lesson to never trust a pirate. 8/10
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End returned to the double-crossing, swash buckling savy ways of the original. At World's EndIt kept a good distance from the repeated jokes and semi-stale plot twists of its predecessor, Dead Man's Chest and solidified the Pirates series as more than just a "lucky first", flukey first film. Captain Jack begins the movie trapped in the white light of purgatory, neither dead nor alive, sane or insane, practically the same as he's always been. With the help of the ultra- talented Orlando Bloom as William Turner, and the banging banging-hot Keira Knightly playing Elizabeth Swann, the three escape from the other side of the world, reunite the eight pirate lords, and ultimately inherit the combination codes to Davey Jones' locker.
While Sparrow, Swann and Turner excel in their roles, AWE was swept away by Geoffrey Rush as the mutinous first mate Barbosa. While Sparrow's jazzy antics grew somewhat tired throughout Dead Man'sM ChestC, the return of Barbosa as a lead pirate, tricking and treating his way to the top, added the spark that made Pirates 3 more like the original, not the lackadaisical sequel. AWE concludes sentimentally, as it should, but with a surprisingly depressing ending, leaving the audience with a whirlpool of confused emotion. AWE played to the strengths of its predecessors, avoided too many clichés, and taught us all the valuable everyday life lesson to never trust a pirate. 8/10
Be the first to comment on this story