Dry Ice Factory

Yesterday I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with holyoutlaw and my anonymous housemate, and I have a couple of questions.

Was it just my imagination, or did the opening sequence equate pirates with terrorists and the British government of the Caribbean with the Bush administration? ("There will be no habeas corpus," etc.)

Also, I think I missed some of the expository blather about the ten years and one day. Did Davy Jones fail to show up for the one day with Calypso? Does this arrangement go on for eternity, or do you earn an escape if you honor the contract?

In general, this movie is indeed a ramshackle global-corporate mess, but it manages some real wit and weirdness amongst the unauthored fumbling chaos. One thing it lacked was a new unearthly strain of pirate on the level of the zombies of the first movie or the sea creatures of the second. On the other hand, it has at least one very good kiss, and a couple of great swashbuckles. The way it pitches itself to a global audience is quite intriguing, especially if it really is identifying the pirates with terrorists. Could Walt Disney's undead head be exploding in its cryo-chamber?