I’m a big fan of two-part movies that were shot at the same time. They remind me of the epics of Old Hollywood, with stories so massive they needed intermissions. Kill Bill was originally meant to be one movie, I can’t watch Superman without wanting to watch Superman II (The Donner Cut), and I loved that Infinity War was a two-part finale (Marvel can rename it from “Part II” and claim it’s an independent story, but it’s still Part II). I also love the (IMO) massively underrated Pirates sequel duology. Back in 2007, I hadn’t seen Dead Man’s Chest until just a few days before At World’s End came out, so I had the benefit of seeing both for the first time within a short window, and I’ve been a fan of both ever since.My roommate and I watched DMC and ATW this past Saturday and Sunday respectively (he had never seen either), and I think when viewed together, they hold up really well. On their own, they’re incomplete and I can’t blame people for not liking them with valid criticism. But when you watch them together and really feel how this is one giant story, the movies become a lot more enjoyable.The stakes remain high when the momentum is kept going between the two. Allegiances and personal agendas of characters are much easier to understand and follow when Dead Man’s Chest is still fresh in your mind. Seeing Bootstrap Bill’s descent into a servant of the Dutchman weighs more heavily when you watch him go from starfished-messenger to a coral-covered husk of a man within the same viewing, and Will’s desperation in his effort to save him feels stronger. The tension between Will and Elizabeth before reaching World’s End feels more valid when the kiss between her and Jack just happened recently to both the characters and audience.Davy Jones a huge part of why these two movies work so well together, and they’re worth watching for him alone. He’s a great tragic villain with a fantastic performance by Bill Nighy and stunning effects that hold up to this day. Slowly learning about his backstory with Calypso over the two movies helps you understand and feel for him more, and it all comes to a payoff with the scene between them in the jail cell in At World’s End, probably my favorite scene of the duology.I could keep going about the strengths of each movie like most “XYZ is Underrated” posts, but all I really want to say is that they’re a lot more enjoyable and complete when viewed close together. The scope of the story is huge, and it deserves to be called an epic. I won’t say they’re some misunderstood masterpiece, I just don’t think they don’t deserve all the hate that’s often thrown at them individually when, at their heart, they’re one movie with an intermission. Give this duology another shot and try to watch them back-to-back. The conclusion to the Pirates trilogy is much more satisfying when you have Dead Man’s Chest flow immediately into At World’s End.P.S. And for what it’s worth, my roommate, who had just watched Curse of the Black Pearl before this as a refresher, loved both Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End and felt similar to how I do in this post. via /r/movies https://ift.tt/2R1oRoI
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