Lady Arwen, I like the 3rd option although all of them make sense.

As for the appearance of the mermaids, I think they were supposed to be more fish-like than woman-like. The nakedness was supposed to make them seem more savage/threatening.

I personally think the mermaids should have been more muscular, seeing as how much time they spend in the water. I was on swim team for a while as a teenager (2-4 hours swimming per day; sometimes up to 8 hours in the summer) and none of us girls were as thin as Syrena but we were all more toned. She just didn't have the swimmer's physique I expected.

Clothes I'm not sure on. I didn't like the visual gymnastics they had to run with to keep the hair in place. It was not the natural effect they were hoping for. If they wanted to avoid the sea-shell bikini, they could have just made the scales go up higher like in the concept art. Or perhaps some well-placed sea-weed might have been a better option.

My dad and I were going to try and see it in theaters, but I don't think we'll be able to with all the company we're getting right now. I'm so sad Oh well, we can rent it or buy it I guess.

they've gotten bigger and better and more dramatic with each movie and that they can't keep that up indefinetly.

I dunno...with all the new technology that keeps coming up, as long as they keep writing good storylines, this could last forever.

*feels a new, Star-Trek-esque series arising *

If they wanted to avoid the sea-shell bikini, they could have just made the scales go up higher like in the concept art. Or perhaps some well-placed sea-weed might have been a better option.

Oo, yes, they did the first part in the *one* scene where Serena doesn't have her hair over her front. Her scales come all the way up to the water's edge, which is nearly to her neck.

Sea-weed clothing...I like it. I could see a top reminiscent to the style Candice Night wears, cut to cover the area in concern, with somewhat ragged sea-weedy sleeves.

I personally think the mermaids should have been more muscular, seeing as how much time they spend in the water.

I dunno, I know in reality it should be that way, but on the other hand, don't mermaids swim more with their tails than their arms?

BTW, what did you all think of

Spoiler

The very end bit, where the Jack doll shows up by Angelica? Also, did any of you wonder if Jack's boot inexplicably split at some point, since the doll's boot was nearly in two parts and falling off?

I finally saw POTC 4 today! It was much better than I expected it to be. But not nearly as good as the first three. It had such a different atmosphere, it made me feel as if it was from a different atmosphere altogether. And since so many of the original characters were missing (Elizabeth, Will, Tia Dalma, Davy Jones, Pintel, Ragetti, Norrington, Beckett), I really felt the movie was lacking something. I didn't feel they added enough new characters to balance the lack. And what new characters they did add, though they were good/alright, they just weren't up to the standard that the really great characters from the previous films set. Nevertheless, it was well-made and entertaining. A few parts were a bit odd/cheesy, but not so much as to ruin the story in any way. The score was just alright. A bit of a disappointment after all the amazing scores the other films produced. The plot was pretty good; definitely better than I expected it to be. Though I thought it was a bit too simple. I prefer a complex plot with lots of twists and turns (Maybe that's why I liked the third film. I see one of the major complaints against that one was the complexity of the plot). But I don't know -- maybe that's just a matter of taste.

New Characters:

~Riella

It's late, so I'll reply to your post in more detail tomorrow, but you reminded me of a theory I've developed, Ithi. I think, for some odd reason, Pintel and Ragetti can only be in odd numbered films. if you recall, they were missing from 2, too, over which I was heartbroken (jk, jk, but I did miss them). I'm hoping if they do a 5, those two will be back. My suspicion is that they're

Spoiler

in the bottle.

About the score: the first time I went, I did feel that the score was very Bleh. However, having been dragged back to see it with the munchkins, I was able to spend a lot more time attending to details than having to keep track of which characters were where and etc and etc, and I found the soundtrack had somehow grown more complex.

Oh, and I also gleaned from this trip that

^^ LadyA... Pintel and Ragetti were in the second film. Ragetti was trying to read the Bible. And they both went after the chest. They've been in all the films, except the fourth.

The reason they weren't in the fourth is because the actors said they didn't want to do it anymore. So they probably won't be back.

~Riella

Okay, then who did I make the mental note was missing in 2 but returned for 3? There was someone...OH! I remember! It was the British soldiers that were basically the humor on the English side. My bad. I blame it on it being late...and on the auto correct.

I will concede the physiology could be different if you're powered by a fish tail so maybe not quite as muscular. But still, you're working your whole body when you swim so even just a little bit healthier looking and I would have been happier.

Spoiler

Her scales come all the way up to the water's edge, which is nearly to her neck.

Spoiler

[spoiler=""]And, actually, looking at a screen cap, it appears that they get light scales over all upper skin when underwater. See Gemma's face in this shot.