Commentary Track
Twenty Reasons Why Pirates are the New Jedi
Posted by J.L. Sosa (jorge@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 24, 2007
Why is the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy the coolest action fantasy franchise since Star Wars? Because the POTC team learned from the best. They’re not plagiarists per se, but they sure borrowed a lot of winning elements from Lucas’ creation.
1. Will Turner begins as a humble blacksmith. Luke Skywalker begins as a humble farm boy.
2. Will has only been told half the truth about his father. Ditto Skywalker.
3. Both Will and Luke are pulled into adventure for the love of a beautiful girl.
4. When we meet Han Solo, he’s a down-on-his-luck smuggler. Jack Sparrow is a down-on-his-luck pirate.
5. Han commands the Millenium Falcon, the fastest ship in the galaxy. Jack Sparrow commandeers the Interceptor, the fastest ship in the Caribbean.
6. Will leaves home for Tortuga, a lawless port city infested by pirates and prostitutes. Luke leaves home for Mos Eisley, a “wretched hive of scum and villainy†frequented by smugglers and spies.
7. Will makes his own sword. Luke constructs his own lightsaber.
8. Will discovers his father, Bootstrap Bill, was once a good man but is now enslaved by the evil Davy Jones. As time goes by Bootstrap becomes less and less human. Luke learns his father, Anakin Skywalker, was once a noble Jedi but is now enslaved by the evil Emperor Palpatine. Anakin, now known as Darth Vader, “is more machine than man now.â€
9. Han has a price on his head and is pursued by the ruthless bounty hunter Boba Fett. Jack owes Davy Jones a blood debt and is pursued by the foul-breathed kraken.
10. Han is betrayed by his so-called friend Lando Calrissian, captured and frozen in carbonite. Jack is betrayed by his so-called friend Elizabeth Swann, swallowed by the kraken and stranded in Davy Jones’ Locker.
If you haven’t seen Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, be forewarned —here be spoilers.
11. Elizabeth immediately regrets the betrayal and vows to save Jack. Lando immediately regrets selling his friend out to the Empire (“This deal is getting worse all the time!â€) and vows to save Han.
12. Our band of intrepid pirate heroes seeks an audience with Captain Sao Feng. They want to bargain for the navigational charts they need to find Jack and save his life. Our band of Star Wars heroes seeks an audience with Jabba the Hutt, seeking to bargain for Han Solo’s life.
13. Feng refuses, but our heroes have a super sneaky backup plan and they get what they want anyway. Jabba also turns our heroes down, but they save the day through subterfuge.
14. Lord Beckett hangs all pirates and their known associates, hoping the uproar will draw the nine Pirate Lords into his trap. Darth Vader tortures Luke’s friends, hoping to draw him into his trap.
15. With the Flying Dutchman at his command, Beckett’s armada is unstoppable. When the Death Star becomes fully operational, the Imperial fleet is also unstoppable.
16. The Dutchman’s only vulnerable point is the heart of Davy Jones. The Death Star’s only vulnerable point is its reactor core.
17. During a climactic special-effects-laden battle scene, the Rebels turn the tables on the Empire and send the villains to a fiery death. Pirates 3 ends with a climactic battle scene and Beckett is consumed in a fiery explosion.
18. All throughout this trilogy, a parrot and monkey provide cutesy comic relief. In Star Wars, this job falls on the two droids.
19. Will fulfills his destiny by becoming a pirate. Luke fulfills his destiny by becoming a full-fledged Jedi Knight.
20. Will and Luke both save their fathers and make peace with the dark sides of their souls.
It’s only fair to note that Star Wars itself was not a wholly original story. George Lucas took inspiration from Westerns, Flash Gordon serials, Kurosawa films and mythological archetypes as old as storytelling itself. Does this “borrowing†amount to theft? Naw, just a bit of friendly piracy, mate!
Read more articles by J.L. Sosa
8 Comments
June 24th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
omg, i didnt bother to read this thread, but its utter blasphemy, there are no other jedi than the jedi, and maybe the dark jedi, but they are really not true jedi. regardless, pirates = not jedi.
Star Wars FTW
June 24th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
after careful consideration i decided to read this, ill point out your errors
2. Will has only been told half the truth about his father. Ditto Skywalker. - Will Turners dad wasnt evil, there was no reason to hide his identity, Darth Vader on the other hand had ceased to be Anakin Skywalker, in a sense, and as he was introduced to the Empire he was introduced as Vader, no one knew him as Anakin
3. Both Will and Luke are pulled into adventure for the love of a beautiful girl. Luke left home because 1) his Aunt and Uncle were masacred, 2) he already wanted to leave, and 3) Ben dragged him along. He later encountered his sister, but he had no idea she was there. His only mission when leaving Tatooine was to deliver the droids.
5. Han commands the Millenium Falcon, the fastest ship in the galaxy. Jack Sparrow commandeers the Interceptor, the fastest ship in the Caribbean. Han didnt steal the Falcon, he won it in a game of Sabacc
6. Will leaves home for Tortuga, a lawless port city infested by pirates and prostitutes. Luke leaves home for Mos Eisley, a “wretched hive of scum and villainy†frequented by smugglers and spies. Mos Eisley was just stop to get a shuttle to leave, the actual destination was a peaceful, pacifist planet
7. Will makes his own sword. Luke constructs his own lightsaber. Luke constructs his lightsaber after his first one, which was actually his fathers, was lost (along with his hand).
8. Will discovers his father, Bootstrap Bill, was once a good man but is now enslaved by the evil Davy Jones. As time goes by Bootstrap becomes less and less human. Luke learns his father, Anakin Skywalker, was once a noble Jedi but is now enslaved by the evil Emperor Palpatine. Anakin, now known as Darth Vader, “is more machine than man now.†Anakin was never enslaved, he was decieved and then became a willing participant.
If you haven’t seen Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, be forewarned —here be spoilers.
havent seen it so i cant comment.
June 24th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I see all the connections you made and they’re all valid, though I think you missed one:
Han Solo is (nearly) everyone’s favorite despite not being the focal point of the story. Same goes for Jack. Natch.
Also, you could probably draw some lines between Chewbacca and Gibbs as hair first mates.
June 25th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Personally, I think you’ve outdone yourself in gathering all of this information. I never would’ve saw it coming. As brent is trying to say as far as I can tell, He may have a valid point too.. but for now I do believe he is looking for the slightest missing detail he can to disprove your facts. (Sorry brent.)
June 25th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
If I may add a further piece of evidence to support my claim, in ESB, Lando actually says, “Han, you old pirate!” :-)
June 26th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
This is all based on the assumption that Star Wars was 100% original and Lucas never stole an idea from anybody.
June 28th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Dude, Gus.
Read the article.
I wrote, “It’s only fair to note that Star Wars itself was not a wholly original story. George Lucas took inspiration from Westerns, Flash Gordon serials, Kurosawa films and mythological archetypes as old as storytelling itself.”
Hope that helps :-)
June 29th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Well. Now I know that. ;)