Comments on: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END http://contour-at-the-movies.com/2007/12/13/pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end/ What we're watching and how it measures up in Contour Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:15:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: David Goulet http://contour-at-the-movies.com/2007/12/13/pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end/comment-page-1/#comment-34 David Goulet Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:45:28 +0000 http://totallywrite.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end/#comment-34 This is a good example of sequelitis: a cinematic disease generating threadbare foollow-ups to an original film that was inherently self contained and didn't have anywhere else to go, but that was so boffo at the boxoffo that the studio had to go back to the well and drain it dry. Perhaps the greatest recent victim of this disease was the Matrix, with Pirates being a close second and Shrek a nice third. In each of these, a classic original film is essentially regurgitated and disappoints us -- no matter how clever and eye-catching the sequel might be. I believe that this is another reason studios are now enamoured with adapting book franchises. Authors get story, and provide sequels that maintain the necessary structure. It takes the guesswork out of it when you go to the big screen. And the franchise most crippled by sequelitis? I'd have to call it a draw of the great R's: Rambo and Rocky. First Blood remains one of my all time favourites. Every sequel since has been sickening. Rocky's 1-3 were all decent enough, but from Russia onward they stank up the joint. You could also put the Die Hard franchise in the sequelitis Hall of Fame. Not only did Die Hard spawn its own brutal sequels, it created a whole genre of Die Hard clones (almost all of them bad). Die Hard 4 was the worst film I've seen in the last year. A total waste of what seemed like 10 hours. But lets end on a positive note and tip our hats to the writers of Toy Story 2 -- who proved hard work and attention to structure are the best way to innoculate your story from sequelitis. This is a good example of sequelitis: a cinematic disease generating threadbare foollow-ups to an original film that was inherently self contained and didn’t have anywhere else to go, but that was so boffo at the boxoffo that the studio had to go back to the well and drain it dry. Perhaps the greatest recent victim of this disease was the Matrix, with Pirates being a close second and Shrek a nice third. In each of these, a classic original film is essentially regurgitated and disappoints us — no matter how clever and eye-catching the sequel might be.

I believe that this is another reason studios are now enamoured with adapting book franchises. Authors get story, and provide sequels that maintain the necessary structure. It takes the guesswork out of it when you go to the big screen.

And the franchise most crippled by sequelitis? I’d have to call it a draw of the great R’s: Rambo and Rocky. First Blood remains one of my all time favourites. Every sequel since has been sickening. Rocky’s 1-3 were all decent enough, but from Russia onward they stank up the joint. You could also put the Die Hard franchise in the sequelitis Hall of Fame. Not only did Die Hard spawn its own brutal sequels, it created a whole genre of Die Hard clones (almost all of them bad). Die Hard 4 was the worst film I’ve seen in the last year. A total waste of what seemed like 10 hours.

But lets end on a positive note and tip our hats to the writers of Toy Story 2 — who proved hard work and attention to structure are the best way to innoculate your story from sequelitis.

]]> By: Bryan http://contour-at-the-movies.com/2007/12/13/pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end/comment-page-1/#comment-33 Bryan Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:07:46 +0000 http://totallywrite.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end/#comment-33 YES YES YES! You finally encapsulated what I've felt about this sucker all along. The Totally Write method agrees with a fundamental response in this movie goer! I walked out of the theater horrified, feeling bamboozled. First came the pain of the film, then the indignity of watching it wrack up untold bazillions at the box office -- validating this crapola as something we supposedly enjoyed! A true marketing success. But it goes to show that if the elements are wrong, the payoff won't be there. Totally Write is not a formula in the paint-by-numbers sense. It just assures that the satisfying elements of any script will be there, providing the audience a worthwhile experience. Writing is still hard... it's just hard with a purpose and for a reason. Thank you for undressing the Pirates franchise. Shiver me timbers -- but we were sure robbed of a potentially fantastic trilogy! I guess those rapscallions stayed thematic, and I know what it's like now to be shorn of my treasures at sea. YES YES YES!

You finally encapsulated what I’ve felt about this sucker all along. The Totally Write method agrees with a fundamental response in this movie goer! I walked out of the theater horrified, feeling bamboozled. First came the pain of the film, then the indignity of watching it wrack up untold bazillions at the box office — validating this crapola as something we supposedly enjoyed! A true marketing success.

But it goes to show that if the elements are wrong, the payoff won’t be there. Totally Write is not a formula in the paint-by-numbers sense. It just assures that the satisfying elements of any script will be there, providing the audience a worthwhile experience. Writing is still hard… it’s just hard with a purpose and for a reason.

Thank you for undressing the Pirates franchise. Shiver me timbers — but we were sure robbed of a potentially fantastic trilogy! I guess those rapscallions stayed thematic, and I know what it’s like now to be shorn of my treasures at sea.

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