Thursday

As promised, some more thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Two things occurred to me as I began watching the movie. First of all, I realised how similar the plot was to Star Wars. At the end of the second movie (Empire Strikes Back/Dead Man's Chest) a key member of the group (Han Solo/Jack Sparrow) has gone missing and they set out to bring him back. At the beginning of the third movie (Return of the Jedi/At World's End) we join them in the middle of their rescue as they attempt to infiltrate an enemy base through various means and disguises. The similarities continue, but you get my point. Anyway, it made me think maybe the writers of Pirates had taken a few ideas from Star Wars in order to construct their trilogy. This then lead onto the second thing that occurred to me. Are the Pirates films the greatest original franchise we've had in recent years? You notice I use the word 'original'. I don't think Lord or the Rings, Harry Potter, X-Men, Spiderman, and Star Wars 1-3 count. Of course the creativity in those films is extraordinary, but something about them isn't the same. For me, the contenders are Pirates, The Matrix and Scream. None of the sequels for any of them, however, have been brilliant. They've been good, but not great. Maybe Hollywood is losing the knack? (I still have my fingers crossed for the Nightwatch trilogy, though.) Overall, I have to say I prefer Pirates. Read about the ten most powerful franchises here, or compare their takings here.