ROTTEN TOMATOES: Critical Consensus: "Pirates" is Adrift, "Bug" Creepy and Crawly

Critical Consensus: "Pirates" is Adrift, "Bug" Creepy and Crawly

by Alex Vo | May 24, 2007

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This week at the movies, it's the pirates ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," starring Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley) versus the bugs ("Bug," starring Ashley Judd). We know who'll take the box office, but who emerges victorious with the critics?

Another week, another money-printing franchise closes its first trilogy. Johnny Depp returns as Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," along with his army-sized supporting cast, boundless CGI, and about a dozen unresolved plot threads left over from "Dead Man's Chest." Sound awesomely excessive? The critics think so too. Except for the awesome part. They contend that when it's not exhausting the viewer with over-the-top action sequences, "At World's End" is boring the viewer with talky scenes of exposition and strained dialogue. At 53 percent, "At World's End" is on par with "Dead Man's Chest," but a far cry from the original's Certified Fresh 79 percent.

"Here's a trick I learned from the Vulcans."

Ignoring 1990's obscure "The Guardian," "Bug" represents director William Friedkin's first major foray into horror since "The Exorcist." Ashley Judd stars as Agnes, a depressed waitress who holes up in a seedy motel (is there any other kind?) with an unstable war veteran who sees creepy crawlies everywhere. The critics are calling this a return to form for Friedkin. Though "Bug" descends into incomprehensibility at the end, they're nevertheless impressed by "Bug"'s cin�ma v�rit� camerawork and palpable dread. At 63 percent, horror and thriller fanatics should consider going buggin' this weekend.

Judd adminsters the elbow lick challenge.

Also opening in limited release: "Paprika," an animated head trip from director Satoshi Kon, is at 92 percent; "The Boss of It All," the new black comedy from the notorious Lars von Trier, is at 92 percent; "Ten Canoes," a unique tragicomedy set among an Aboriginal tribe, is at 91 percent; "Golden Door," a romantic fable about an Italian clan coming to America, is at 60 percent; "Angel-A," likely Luc Besson's last live action film, is at 43 percent; and "Hollywood Dreams," a comedy about a struggling actress in Tinseltown, is at 25 percent.

"Got any Nuprin? I've a splitting headache."

Recent Johnny Depp Movies
---------------------------------
54% -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
84% -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
83% -- Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
32% -- The Libertine
46% -- Secret Window

Related Items

Movie:	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
	Paprika
	Angel-A
	The Boss of it All
	Golden Door
	Hollywood Dreams

(1-20 of 21 posts) | Reply

Infernal writes:
on May 24 2007 04:20 PM

[b]Why..[/b]
Why did everyone dislike Dead Man's Chest?

I thought it was a great movie.

(Reply to this)

screwhead100 writes:
on May 24 2007 04:34 PM

me too.............im goin to see pirates 3 tonite at the midnight show.......all the 8, 9 and 10pm shows were sold out................

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Ron_Burgundy writes:
on May 24 2007 04:45 PM

Um...because DMC was a convulted mess. That's why it got poor reviews. Besides the amazing CG on Davey Jones and a few exciting action moments, DMC was dead in the water. Never have a been so bored...

Looks like AWE is going to be more of the same.

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Paul_Is_Drunk writes:
on May 24 2007 04:53 PM

Agreed.

I liked the first one, heck I even bought the DVD, but I have yet to be able to get through Dead Man's Chest because I get so freakin' bored. Maybe you have to be a teenager to get it? *shrug* The kids these days!

(Reply to this)

SplendidIsolation writes:
on May 24 2007 04:58 PM

Damn, Paprika looks freaky!

Instead of Pirates, I will be all over Bug this weekend.

(Reply to this)

nickb1016 writes:
on May 24 2007 05:29 PM

In reply to this comment (#866710)
well looks like its going to be you and....you

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sharpless writes:
on May 24 2007 06:10 PM

I loved the first Pirates, but the second was an immensely unsatisfying let-down. I can't really muster up much enthusiasm for the third at all. I still like Jack Sparrow, but I'm ready to let the rest of the franchise sink.

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screwhead100 writes:
on May 24 2007 06:15 PM

the 3rd looks much more promising than the 2nd one was.........even tho i liked the 2nd one............ill be sure to let you all know how it was when i get back at 3am tonight............

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CannibalPenguins writes:
on May 24 2007 07:03 PM

Am I the only one that wants to see Bug more than Pirates?

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SplendidIsolation writes:
on May 24 2007 07:07 PM

In reply to this comment (#866711)
This is unfortunately very true.

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rdproductions writes:
on May 24 2007 07:50 PM

The people who liked Dead Man's Chest obviously do so because Captain Jack Sparrow is a "hot stud". Like I said earlier, Disney should have done the same with Pirates as they did with Haunted Mansion.

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jeremyd4 writes:
on May 24 2007 08:47 PM

[b]What a weird movie![/b]
I loved it though! ....but some of the scenes and surreal moments are (as one review I read put it) like something out of a monty python film. It detracts from the "realism" of the other films (what little they had!) and gives viewers a story of Greek mythological proportions with gods and underworlds etc. For those that have seen 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen', I think it has a similar style to that at times. The movie is long, and I agree with the complaints about it trying to cram in too much. It was confusing yes, but after viewing it more than once I'm sure you'll probably understand who was doing what to who better. The reason this is so hard to follow is because people's motives literally change every 5 mins.

Chow Yun-Fat is definitely underused, which is fine, but why he made it on the posters as a main character is odd? I sense perhaps any prequels, sequels (or computer games and animes) may serve to explain his character better since he's had many run-ins with Jack Sparrow in the past it seems. In fact, his backstory could lead to a stand-alone film itself perhaps. HOWEVER, in "At World's End" (SPOILER) he only serves to provide (1) a map and (2) enable a certain character to have a higher 'ranking' later on - so i really don't think his character was necessary in the end. Singapore was a nice set though.

It's hard what to tell people about this movie other than it's just really friggen' weird, and I like all things pirates so I was always going to like it. It is nothing like the first Pirates in my opinion, and it's also quite different to Dead Man's Chest, yet probably more similar in that most of the characters from that have carried over. There are less intimate moments with the characters, and at times you forget what they're all about, so I would highly recommend anyone seeing this movie go see DMC before, as it'd make you feel more envolved, make you care about the characters more, and you'll probably have a better time.

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synergyred writes:
on May 24 2007 08:55 PM

Must see Paprika!!

Just saw Pirates. It pwns Dead Man's Chest on all levels, but still cannot live up to the first. I found it to be enjoyable, but not enough to to go and buy the DVD. Glad I saw it though!

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South_park300 writes:
on May 24 2007 09:23 PM

saw it tonight. loved it! screw the haters

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aknddon3 writes:
on May 25 2007 12:00 AM

It was amazing, again the critics are wrong. The critics are basically batting 0-10000000000 right now.

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screwhead100 writes:
on May 25 2007 12:43 AM

i'd have to agree with this..........."It is nothing like the first Pirates in my opinion, and it's also quite different to Dead Man's Chest' ..........totally agree.............it only dragged a little but i think they needed to do that to better explain some details.........

i give it a 3 out of 4 stars...............

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WorldDude writes:
on May 25 2007 03:34 AM

I thought each Pirates movie got progressively better, and At World's End was the best of the three. I don't see the problem with it or DMC.

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Jedi General writes:
on May 25 2007 07:01 AM

In reply to this comment (#866708)
Agreed. DMC was confusing as hell, not to mention flat out BORING for most of it's (too long) running time. And I was so hyped for DMC too. It ended up bring such a crushing disappointment, that I wish I hadn't made the mistake of ignoring the poor reviews. I'm still going to see AWE, but I'll keep my expectations much lower this time, since AWE has an even worse tomatometer than DMC.

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Kaleli writes:
on May 25 2007 11:12 AM

Really boring movie. Too much, too fast, exessive plot twists and the dialogue just wasn't as rich as it was before to support the movie. Even DMC was a better movie.

Aside from a minute here and there, a couple laughs inbetween the 165 minute berth of the movie, the only real connection I think it had to the prior pirates was the last 5 minutes of the movie (after the beach scene).

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aknddon3 writes:
on May 25 2007 01:25 PM

In reply to this comment (#866724)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, wow you must not of seen the same movie.

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