I re-watched the first PotC movie the other day, and I realized that of all the characters, Barbossa and his pirates are easily the most sympathetic characters in the story.
Barbossa's descriptions of the curse are horrifying: absolutely no sensual pleasure of any kind. No food, no wind, no sex. Endless, banal life.
Even worse - Orlando Bloom's father, Bootstrap Bill, is trapped alive at the bottom of the ocean, at least as far as we know.
Like Barbossa says, the punishment is disproportionate to the crime. A horrifying punishment to a series of crimes that Jack Sparrow was largely company to, and the audience maintains sympathy with him.
So why on Earth aren't the "heroes" helping the pirates? I know, Barbossa's pirates violently kidnap Swann, but with even a short conversation between Swann, Barbossa and Will Turner, the pirates could have been freed of the curse with a minimum of fuss and bother.
It would even benefit the other characters to free the pirates of their curse - no more invincible, unkillable pirates running about terrorizing the Caribean.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Because 20 minutes of earnest conversation would end 75% of all movies before you even got the straw in your Coke (99% of all romantic comedies) and kill the situation comedy forever.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Communication is the nemesis of drama.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Plus it's hard to have a chat with the guys who are burning and pillaging your town.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: Because 20 minutes of earnest conversation would end 75% of all movies before you even got the straw in your Coke (99% of all romantic comedies) and kill the situation comedy forever.
This, this, this!
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
The lack of communication isn't really my point, though. Rather, wasn't Will Turner a rather horrible person? He must have understood that in attempting to preserve the curse, he was condemning his father to an eternity of being trapped under the ocean.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
I would almost call that realistic. How much drama in our own lives could be averted with a civil 20 minute conversation?
Posted by Raventhief (Member # 9002) on :
I think you've misinterpreted Will's intentions and knowledge. The only time that Will's actions could be said to be "attempting to preserve the curse" was when he rescued Elizabeth. If he had full knowledge of the situation, he would have known that her death would have no effect on the curse. After that, Barbosa et al were attempting to break the curse by killing Will, so clearly he didn't want that.
Additionally, until he's already been captured by the pirates, he didn't know anything about his father's involvement in the curse.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: Communication is the nemesis of drama.
This is why I'm quitting Lost three seasons in.
If you guys would just say what you were thinking you would have the problems you deal with every day!!! Bah.
Posted by youngnapoleon (Member # 12358) on :
quote:Originally posted by Foust: The lack of communication isn't really my point, though. Rather, wasn't Will Turner a rather horrible person? He must have understood that in attempting to preserve the curse, he was condemning his father to an eternity of being trapped under the ocean.
I vaguely remeber Will being forced to choose between his father and Elizabeth in a later movie, so chances are the directors eventually understood this.
Posted by umberhulk (Member # 11788) on :
Uh we know that barbosa was still a sort of a bad dude, because he tells Jack in the movie that he lost the pearl because he wasnt as bad as the people he was commanding. And thats why Barbosa was able to rally them and screw Jack.
Posted by umberhulk (Member # 11788) on :
Barbosa is cooly sympathetic though, and awesome. His last line in the first movie is a good touch.
He's in Stranger Tides right?
A three way fued between Jack, Barbosa, and Ian McShane sounds awesome.