pirates of the caribbean: at world's end

[bedlamsbard]

Short and non-spoilery version: Will Turner, Supernatural Hunter is so totally on.



Let me get this out of the way: I really loved it. Really, really, and I've had significant problems with both Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest. I was worried because of the dichotomy that was overly present in DMC (the movie watches like it was written by two completely different people; light and dark are two different stories and two different tones), but there was none of the absurdity I was worried about. AWE has a great deal of the humor that was present in CotBP, but it doesn't over play it; it's used nicely and worked into the background nicely, rather than being the focus of the movie, as was half the problem with DMC.

I loved the soundtrack bunches. The first thing I did when I left the theater was buy a copy of the sountrack. I totally recommend it.

Something else I was worried about was how they'd play the Will/Elizabeth story, because they had to. They did it very nicely, for a Disney movie. It wasn't all better despite the time lapse between DMC and AWE; it took a fairly large portion of the movie to get all better, and even then I'm pretty sure it's not. They played the little things almost perfectly: Elizabeth's panic when the Singapore pirate threatens to mutilate Will, Will's automatic reach for Elizabeth when she sees her father and how quickly he stops himself. How Will is the one who stops Elizabeth from jumping. I am of the opinion that Barbossa's quickly performed marriage was because Will knew he was going to fulfill his destiny; I'm also of the opinion that one day every ten years isn't going to be enough for Elizabeth. Backing up a phrase, the emphasis is on "quickly" -- I think they went there maybe a little too fast, especially since that's the first time Will and Elizabeth kiss in the entire movie.

Jack's hell. *shudders* Loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. I loved the fade to black and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride theme -- oh my God, they actually went there -- I loved how Jack's hell is to be captain of a ship of Jacks, aboard the Black Pearl with no water in sight. I loved the rock crabs, and again -- I'm firmly of the opinion that Jack damn well went mad down there, especially since he was hallucinating multiple Jacks all movie. The Locker itself was fantastic, right down to the souls of the dead and the reversal: up is down, down is up.

The opening scene was fucking creepy, that's all I have to say.

I am madly in love with Elizabeth pulling out weapon after weapon after weapon, then finally pulling the big damn gun out of her pants -- then having to take her pants off. And Will being pulled out of the tub, gah. Also, I like Barbossa better than Sparrow.

There's so much betrayal and double-crossing in this movie that it's hard to know who's really on which side: Barbossa, Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Norrington, Sao Feng, Beckett, Davy Jones, Tia Dalma. I don't particularly like the way they chose to play this, but it was very interesting. I like that Elizabeth admitted Will couldn't trust her; I like how Will turned that back on her later. I'm rather fond of Bootstrap Bill going completely insane.

May I add how much I loved the symmetry here? Series are always excellent when they end with symmetry. I love Norrington getting his commodore's sword back; I love Will dying by the sword he made. I am vaguely amused by Murtogg and Mullroy rephrasing their argument from the first movie while Jack waltzes off with the dead man's chest.

I loved Will dying. Will is my favorite character in the series, let me get that straight, but I love that he died -- I love that they Davy Jones killed him, and that he died by his own sword. I love that he killed Davy Jones right back (although not with his father's knife, alas), even though I still think Jack is a manipulative bastard. I also have to add that he was looking very, very good in this movie, especially as the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Bandanna, red shirt, pirate boots, black curls -- fresh red scar on his chest where his own father cut his heart out. (limmenel, I think Will's Challenger is going to have to be red. Dark red. Wine red. Like the wine-dark sea!) He was looking good in the beginning when he was all trussed up. He was looking good when he was reading the map, when he was kindly telling Barbossa and Jack to both leave the ship (I have to admit I was just waiting for him to sail off, not rendezvous with Sao Feng). He looked pretty good dying, too. I don't quite understand why he needed the Black Pearl specifically to chase the Flying Dutchman, except for it being the fastest ship in the seven seas, which, you know, was probably it. He was darling while drinking tea with Beckett and telling Jones off and you know what? I think he and Barbossa may be the smartest ones in the entire movie. He knew how manipulate Calypso, he knew how to manipulate Beckett and Jones -- his weak points are Elizabeth and his father.

Jack: "Think like Will, think like Will." A nice counterpoint to Will's "think like Jack. What would Jack do?"

Tia Dalma being a chained goddess -- *shudders* Wow. That was -- pretty amazing. I like it, I think. Truly, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and she was taking Davy Jones down one way or another. I am very fond of Tia Dalma; I now extend that fondness to Calypso.

Oh, Norrington. Who probably would have made a damn good captain for the Flying Dutchman if Bootstrap Bill hadn't killed him. Norrington is my other favorite character and I can well say he died with honor. Stabbing Davy Jones with Will's sword, gah, and helping Elizabeth escape -- kissing Elizabeth goodbye and shooting the line binding Elizabeth's ship to the Dutchman -- more love. He died a hero and an honorable man.

I really have entirely no opinion on the pirate lords, since they were a means to an end -- this movie should have been at least two more, to give everything the weight it deserves. Hey, we met Jack's parents, at least!

The dead kraken -- *bows head*

Will and Elizabeth will never be happy. Will's been bound to captain the Flying Dutchman for all eternity, ten years at sea for one day on land; the only thing that can break that vow is death -- his death. And Elizabeth has his heart. Do you have any idea how happy I am that there is no happily ever after? I am extremely happy that there is no happily ever after. Elizabeth Swann will not wait -- and she's Captain Elizabeth Swann now.

And the movie ends the way it began: with one more adventure, one more mutiny, one more Jack in a small boat while Barbossa sails off with the Pearl, but the adventure will never end. There's continuity to this story, which I love; it doesn't all end at the end. It goes on forever, with Jack chasing immortality. (Although I have to add: I thought his one true love was the Black Pearl?)

Also, Elizabeth never once where's so much as a skirt in this movie. Just about the only feminine thing she wears is when she's being dressed up by Sao Feng. What's that theory about her and her clothes?

I really loved it, to shorten this down. Excuse me, I have to go write massive amounts of Will Turner, Supernatural Hunter not tied forever to the sea thank you very much fic now.

Comments

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I can see him liking the super cheap rum that you can buy at any corner store in America. And Jack would be happy without the Pearl, as long as there was something (read: eternal life) to fill the loss.

Trenchcoat, slacks, button-down shirt, but everything's just slightly off, a bit out of date, a hint of the 18th century in the cut and style. Or, at least, that's how I pictured him. I can't see him in a tie. Or, ohgod, jeans. And the powdered wig. *dies*

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

He'd probably run, like, a bar or an antique shop or something. Or run tourists around the Caribbean in a rickety old boat or something. And I don't think he was obsessed with eternal life until he died, at which point the Locker drove him completely raving mad.

Also, I think that in this 'verse, Will killed him.

Oooh, exactly. Black and white, with his hair tied back -- his natural hair, obviously -- clean-shaven, with his shirt open at the collar -- and no whites of his eyes the first time you look at him.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

He was halfway to completely raving mad BEFORE the Locker, though... and yeah, I can see him with his own little boat in the Bahamas.

Also, I think that in this 'verse, Will killed him.

... really? Wait, really?!


Mmmh, that's a pretty mental image of James, ohyes.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Right, which is exactly who no one else really noticed, but we saw his hallucinations, which were...pretty damn nuts. And his plans were noticeably less successful this time.

... really? Wait, really?!

Hell if I know why, but I'm pretty sure so, yeah. Either that or he was executed by piracy -- death by drowning, which is nasty -- but I prefer the theory that Will killed him.

I am dying to write the scene where Dean and Sam are trying to do research on Will and Dean keeps going, "No, dude, this is impossible. This guy would have to be, like, a million years old." "Why is immortality impossible? I mean, we've seen resurrections and Reapers --" "But immortality, Sam."

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Haha, I love the seen with Dean and Sam :D.

Jack's hallucinations were... yeah, "pretty damn nuts" sums it up quite well. I still love the I DROPPED MY BRAIN moment!

Does Will kill Jack to save him from a worse death (like by drowning or whatever), maybe?

On a random note, I am just eagerly waiting for the SPN episode with unicorns. Because that would make me far too happy.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Because Dean would so obviously be dubious of immortality, you know. Seriously, Sam and Dean trying to do research on Will and finding old copies of various documents online: his arrest warrant from DMC, and a couple Wanted for Piracy posters, and the diary of a young woman he saved when the Dutchman came to take her ship's dead to the Locker, and a letter from the man who ordered Elizabeth hung...and then he kind of disappears for a while and shows up again during the American Revolution or the War of 1812 or something. And all this lore and legend that kind of tangentially mentions him, so by the time they've managed to track him up to the twenty-first century Sam and Dean are just kind of shaking their heads and going dude.

Nope, Will definitely kills him and means him to die. Maybe because Jack just tried to kill him by stabbing his heart, but more likely because Will's a little crazy from Elizabeth's death. (Death by drowning, though? Seriously nasty.)

They have to do an episode with pirates sometime, because that's classic. And with the old West, and, like...I don't know. Seriously, though, they have to do something with pirates eventually.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Dean would totally be dubious, and so would Sam, because the only immortal things they know of are demons and the like, and yet this guy apparently is as human as they are, so they'd be baffled and have no freaking clue what to think.

Wow, harsh. You are extremely brutal to your characters :D.

I WANT A BODY-SWAP EPISODE, DANGIT! And a genderswap one, because COME ON, but I don't think that will happen if only because it'd require them finding two girls who resemble Jared and Jensen, and then not using Jared and Jensen for an entire episode. Alas. Unless they could convince them both to go in drag!

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Of course, the first time Dean and Sam meet Will, Will pulls a gun on them. Not that that's unusual or anything. He'd confuse the hell out of them, that's for sure.

This is new in some way?

We're talking Supernatural here; they'd totally do it. I mean, you have Jensen and Jared at the beginning and the end. Or they could do it framing style and have it told in flashbacks, so you've got the boys for half the p and the girls for half the ep. Or only swap one.

I still feel that they have to do an immortal/cursed hunter, seriously.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Did Will's accent fade over time? I know, random, but I'm thinking about Sam and Dean meeting him and him being all British-y, and I have NO IDEA why, but it's 2:30 AM, so yeah, random thought.

No, it's not new. I'm good at stating the obvious.

I want genderswap. And Kripke's such a fanboy, I bet he'd do it, too.

Have you ever read the SPN/American Gods crossover where Sam and Dean are gods and they're immortal and omg it's fantastic? Actually, I think there are a couple of immortal!Sam-and-Dean fics that I've read.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Probably a little bit, but I'm thinking he still sounds pretty damn British.

Norrington! *beams* Sure, show up and freak out Dean.

No, I've never read American Gods -- Gaiman really does nothing for me. There is an excellent fic where Dean's immortal and Sam's not, and Dean spends the rest of his very long life watching Sam grow old and die and taking care of Sam's kids...here, let me find the link. The Days Don't End Here, My Friend (http://trollprincess.livejournal.com/1101980.html#cutid1).

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Omg, all of the fic links are piling up for me to read :D

Arg, I'm such a Gaiman fangirl. Like, incredibly so. I traveled 12 hours by train to meet him once.

Hee, poor Dean, spooked by Norrington :D

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Dude, you'd be spooked by Norrington too if you turned around and he's standing in the middle of your locked motel room and his eyes are completely black.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

He'd probably be all snobby British, too, and totally, like, disdainful of the motel room. :D

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

He's pretty damn disdainful of the gun Dean pulled on him. And then he gets creepy.

"Who are you?" Dean demanded, not wavering an inch. On second thought, at getting a look at the man's eyes -- pure black, with no hint of whites or iris -- he amended that to, "What are you?"

"My name is James Norrington," the man said. He blinked; when his lids went up again his eyes were plain blue and perfectly human. "I'm a Gatekeeper."

"Gate of what?" Dean snapped, not entirely sure he wanted the answer. There was something off about the guy, something about the cut of his clothes -- black slacks, white shirt unbuttoned at the collar, black jacket. Ordinary enough, but just wrong on a core level.

"Gate of Hell," Norrington said.

Er, and here I was saying I wasn't going to post anymore snippets of this because if I did, no one would ever see the whole story.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I WANT MORE SNIPPITS! I'm such an addict. But I re-read the snippits you give me, like, a dozen times :D

Oh James ♥.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

NO MORE SNIPPETS! If I keep doing that I won't actually write the thing.

Norrington totally deserves to be sort of raised from the dead and become a guardian of hell (which is, uh, exactly why he's here keeping an eye on Dean).

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Does Dean try to, like, exorcise James? Because I would pay good money to see that, and Norrington standing there, like, "Please, like that's going to work. I think I have a headache. Yawn."

Re: potc/spn snippet

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

...dude. This is why it's a good idea to post snippets; you give all kinds of good ideas.

No, but Dean pulls a gun on him, and Norrington's reply to that is along the lines of, "Put it down. It won't do you any good." And then Dean googles Norrington and finds him on the same historical documents site as the one he found Will on...and the entire time Sam's in the shower. I don't think Dean tells Sam that Norrington came by.

Re: potc/spn snippet

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

But Dean can't lie worth shit, so Sam's gonna totally know that something is up, even if he doesn't know what, but he wouldn't push Dean because yeah, he's seen where that gets him: nowhere!

:D