I don't mind when you triple post. Your posts are always so passionate and poetic. Considering we are both sparrabethers and yet have different opinions about AWE, we always have a lot to discuss and I hope you aren't thinking of leaving so soon.
It's so cool you saw sparrabeth right off the bat. When I first saw it, I was but a young teenager and was so caught up in the entire story and all the characters, I didn't pick up on any nuances at all. But over time, watching it again, I still didn't see sparrabeth, but noticed the restraint and yet the uniqueness of Jack and Elizabeth's relationship. I saw that special connection that you don't usually see between men and women in movies but exists in the real world all the time. When I heard a sequel was in the works, I wondered if they would expand on this relationship.
And then DMC, wow. So much happened in DMC and I was shocked and pleased that it was a character movie rather than a plot movie. Not that it didn't have a plot, but this was so much more character-driven than COTBP. Like I've said many times, I thought Curiosity was as far as they were going to get in that film. I figured things would be left unsettled and feelings unresolved. But then lo and behold, we got our kiss, and I was so hot under the collar. I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the theater. "Omigod, they're kissing! Omigod, Will saw! Omigod, she's left him there! Omigod, he's dead!"
I was elated these two had had some intimate time together and I could not wait until the next one. As someone who has published a book and considers herself pretty well-read and educated in storytelling, I had no idea what the hell the people that wrote this were going to do. I had never seen anything like it. So I had to get other people's opinions. Was I weird for enjoying a movie kiss so much? Was I indecisive because I was worrying about Will? Was it even a possibility these two stubborn characters would swallow their pride and admit any feelings they were having? So here I was, brand new at this forum, figuring out anything I could.
We analyzed, we hoped, we guessed- and I think everyone was surprised by AWE. I have to compliment T&T on the original decisions they made. They took turns most would not have expected them to. I have to compliment that they expanded the universe they created once again, taking us out of the Caribbean. I would have rather they gone back to the Caribbean, but what are you gonna do? I LOVED how central a character Elizabeth became. People say this was Will's film. This was Elizabeth's in my opinion. She had become a Pirate King and I refuse to believe she gave up the title just because she had a child. I didn't know how to tell everyone this, but I found out last week I'm in my 6th week of pregnancy, and because I'm separated from my husband often (for now), I feel very close to Elizabeth. I plan to be a working mother and I think she's stronger than me and could therefore also be a working mother. And yes, I am thrilled at the fact that I will be a mom soon.
Back to AWE, the relationships all suffered. Even though the film is long, I felt things were missing. Things needed to be expanded on. We got one scene between Beckett and Jack? That didn't explain anything? Didn't delve into any past hurts or betrayals? What a crime. Elizabeth and Will are not speaking and not trusting each other and then all of a sudden after parlay, they're back to how they used to be and get married afterwards? Jack and Elizabeth, what an opportunity missed. They needed their forgiveness moment. There is always time to interrupt the story and take the time for characters. COTBP, probably the most action-packed of the movies, gave us the island scene for no other reason other than to indulge in the beauty of these two characters and their interaction. AWE was good, but the weakest of the three, sloppy at times and even careless at others.