One thing i love about the trilogy is how brutal they are. They have no problem killing people on screen yet its not gory

Ive always adored how real the movies looked. The sets are vast and detailed, the costumes will have you staring at them taking in every stitch, you can almost feel the textures of Jack's waistcoat, or smell the rotting deck of the Dutchman. Such grounded realism was thoroughly obliterated when 4 and 5 switched to digital and went with gimmicky CGI.

The chemistry between Elizabeth and Will is INCREDIBLE, you just don’t get that many action movies whose leads have romantic and physical chemistry like that anymore

"BARBOSA MARRY US"

I love how we all just accept these movies are a trilogy (not that more exist).

Hans Zimmer captures how Will and Elizabeth feel in music, so that we resonate with the emotion, it’s incredible and glad you mentioned it.

It’s not just Elizabeth Swan, every character has their own personalities, motivations, strengths and weaknesses, and all get enough screen time to learn and grow and change while staying true to their character throughout the whole 3 film arc with satisfying and emotionally resonant conclusions. It’s quite astonishing to go back and see how perfect the writers got it compared to what Disney/Marvel/DC writers rooms put out today.

That early to mid 2000s period with the LoTR and the PoC trilogies shows what the power of a dedicated crew of creators can do if given the time and passion. From the complex storytelling, balanced cast, perfect location filming, tasteful but complex VFX, brilliant cinematography and topped out with absolutely perfect music score.

Back when $200+ million budgeted blockbusters actually LOOKED like they cost $200+ million to make. The production design, practical effects, and CGI were impressive for the time (especially on Davy Jones), and have aged like fine wine.

One hidden gem about this trilogy, is that it is actually Elizabeth's character whose growth we are watching. Jack may be the main character and the highlight, but Elizabeth is sort of the story

The third film is my favorite and precisely because of its complexity. There are so many interesting characters and each of them has their own motivation and goals. It's really good

The reason she is a good character is because: 1) She fails, 2) she has room to grow, 3) she grows, 4) she can be saved by others, and 5) she retains flaws.

Gore Verbinski is just one of those directors that understands fun. Like Sam Raimi, Stephen Sommers, or James Gunn, even when it's scary it's fun. Even when it's emotional it's fun. Even when it's a bad movie there's still fun to be had. It's the kind of director who's absence in a sequel to a film they directed is so obvious just by the difference in vibe. Here's to directors who know how to make movies - no matter the tone or genre - that people enjoy watching and rewatching until the end of time.

15:31 I still to this day absolutely love the tiny, but vital addition of Barbossa's little confused look as Swan pulls the gun out. It's such a light gesture, but from that character, at that time, with that level of confusion, just makes Elizabeth's delivery of the scene elevate even more!