I loved it. I thought it was a bit heavy on the first movie references and maybe went for the comedy a little hard, but that's Pirates, and it was all great anyway.
I thought the CGI was fantastic, and in general the story was really good. I loved the sword fight on the waterwheel. And the fact that they did a lot of downplaying of the romance angle, especially considering how long the movie was.
I LOVE the last 15 minutes of the movie. Did anyone have Sarlacc Pit flashbacks when the Kraken appeared to Jack at the end? It was like a watery version.
I didn't guess that Barbossa would be at the end, I thought those boots were going to be Jack Sparrow's father actually, as a friend of mine confirmed that he WILL be in the third movie. But that was just as cool.
Also, for anyone wondering about the scene after the credits, it's only 15 seconds long, and it's of the dog as the new leader of those crazy amazon guys. It's funny and cute, but not earth shattering.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I thought this review was rather unfair. The movie didn't feel long to me at all. King Kong on the other hand felt like sleep therapy it dragged on for so long with useless plot feints.
I think it pushed at a steady pace and never got boring, and the plot was perfectly understandable. Maybe the guy just isn't a fan?
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I enjoyed it thouroughly, although I was a little disappointed with the ending as I bet my friend that no one would die. The only time I checked my watch was at the very end when they were in that woman's house, because I thought there would be one last hurrah to save Jack. I shoulda have known, however, that there would be a huge cliffhanger.
I have to agree, I loved the scene with the waterwheel. It was amazing. I just want to buy that movie to watch that scene over and over again.
Also, I too thought that the boots were going to be Keith Richards. I was a little disappointed, but I'm glad that Barbossa is back. And the next movie comes out next summer, so we don't really have to wait that long.
Oh, and speaking of Star Wars references, they totally pulled a Han Solo on us. They "killed" off a main character only to have him revived at the beginning of the next film to go off on a grand adventure.
Long live Jack Sparrow!
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
No one did die. Heck, there were more living characters at the end of this movie than when it started.
If the Kraken is the Sarlacc Pit, Jack Sparrow is Boba Fett (imagine what would come of THAT union), he'll be back.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I freaking loved Norrington in this movie. He was a stuck up little prig in the last one, but he was much more fun this time around. And Bennet is easier to hate.
I liked Bootstrap Bill, too.
And Barbossa! Awesome.
It's just too bad that Will is going to be all angst ridden and tortured next movie, cause he was more fun this time around too.
posted
I feel awful. I'm one of the only people I've talked to who didn't enjoy the movie at all. It was too much fanservice: a few things worked in the first installment, and instead of coming up with anything new, the script writers relied on countless allusions to the first film.
And, um, the 'sword' innuendo was cute the -first- time.
I think it was an alright movie, but it doesn't stand up to the first at all. Curse of the Black Pearl was a thrill ride, with charming dialogue and lovable, fresh characters. Dead Man's Chest seemed so heavy and couldn't decide if it wanted to wax poetic or just be silly.
Posts: 71 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
For a peek at PotC 3 (including confirmation that Jack -will- be back) view the following production photo...Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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The 1:55 PM showing was packed solid! The line extended into the food court and outside the mall!
This film is going to make huge piles of money. No question.
I mostly agree with OSC's review, though I'll, add this:
I liked how this movie clarified something that struck me in the first film- Elizabeth is the one with true pirate tendencies. Not Will. Elizabeth is the one who lies, cheats, threatens, steals...
That was all suggested in the first film, but buried under the "Will's father was a pirate, so he feels guilt" sub-plot. Happily, that's dropped.
I find Elizabeth's ruthless streak far more interesting than Will's angst, so I'm totally okay with that. Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
I guess my only complaint about his review was that he made too big a deal about the fact that the movie ends in a cliffhanger? So what? No one complained about waiting 2 years to see the end of the LOTR trilogy from its start, or paying for TWO more tickets to see it, and they were also longer. What's the big deal? Movies end in cliffhangers. It's not like they made a 6 hour movie and then just stopped the film at 3 hrs. It DID have an ending.
And I did notice that it was Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, solely from his performance on Love, Actually. But I thought it was fantastic, his voice especially was great, along with his facial mannerisms.
I think they might have overplayed some of the gags from the first movie, but I still love them, so it didn't bother me.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
It was easily one of the better sequels out there. However, I'm already having huge doubts about the third one primarily based upon the aforelinked picture of Jack Sparrow. All in all, very entertaining, great gags, and quotable. Full recommendations from me.
Posts: 9754 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Oh my gosh… I just got back from seeing it. Goodness…. Talk about long. Confusing in many spots and so many what the heck things. For example, why would she think the monster was coming for Jack? He was off the ship when it first attacked. Makes no sense. What was the point of the dirt in the jar if that didn’t put him on land? What was up with the girl in the beginning? I really thought they were trying to throw the barrels into the mouth of the beast to blow them up, not hurt more tentacles. There were so many times I was just like why on earth would someone do that parts. Things just didn’t click. They could have cut a ton out. It just didn’t flow well. Yes there were funny parts and some neat special effects. But other then that. Two thumbs down.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Watch it again, Jay. The black spot on Jack's hand was how the monster tracked them. It went away when he struck a deal with DJ, but when DJ realized it was a delaying tactic he brought the black spot back.
DJ couldn't touch land for another ten years, so if the heart was in the jar it was safe from him.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I do have to agree with Jay that Keira Knightley in the rain didn't make a lot of sense to me. I could see a party got rained out but it was like G&R's November Rain. I knew something bad happened, but until just now, I didn't realize Will hadn't shown up and she thought she'd been jilted. That does help explain her behavior at the end. Even though she logically knew Will hadn't abandoned her, she still felt like he wasn't there when he was supposed to be.
I'm also not sure why we put the heart in the jar if it stayed there about 30 seconds or how the Commodore figured it all out after seeing some dirt in a pirates longboat on a sandy beach. He's a better man than I.
And I'll second him on the barrels. We needed large explosives to take out a couple tentacles? And it conveniently gave them time to get away in a rather slow and drawn out escape, I might add.
Overall, it was a cool but silly movie. And it didn't resonate with me. It was a fun evening, but I doubt I'll see it again.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I recognise those people who thought that the comedy/allusions were heavy- they were. However, most of the time, I thought it worked. Pirates of the Caribbean is never supposed to be deep and serious, it's supposed to be a swashbuckling movie, and I think they just went no holds barred on this one. If someone said 'Hey, I just had a wacky idea', it went in. Like the water wheel on the ruined house/mill; I saw that wheel and knew that it was going to be important. You get the hang of the brand of comedy after awhile.
I liked the way it was chocabloc full of jokes, so many that lots of them were lost on the first viewing. "Put your backs into it like you're getting paid for it!" was one.
Anything was fair game for an amusing scene, and I think that you don't often see this kind of comedy that doesn't rely on fart jokes but is still physical and straight forward in a shameless kind of way. Suitable for children and adults and everyone.
I think they could get away with the allusions because the other movie was 3 years ago (which is a while) and has become very familiar. Yes, some were a little awkward, but I don't think it was
Jay and AvidReader, and others, the movie is not supposed to be taken as seriously as you're taking it. It is supposed to be quite silly.
At the same time, however, I think they managed to make it interesting and fast paced, and add a little bit of "uh oh" every so often to keep you on your toes.
All in all the only quibble I had with the movie was that it wasn't as neat as the first. It was more rollicking, more sprawling, more full, more complicated (we were in three or four different places all the time). I can't decide if the haphazardness adds or takes away from the movie. I think I'm going to have to see it again to decide.
posted
I enjoyed it. It was a fun movie. I did think some of CGI of Davy Jone's crew was a bit jerky, but all in all, the effects were good.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I didn't think it was long at all. I only realized the end was near when that lady-in-the-hut (Diodoma?) said "The World's End," which I knew was the title of the next movie.
And BARBOSSA!!!!!! I can't come up with enough awesome things to say about the fact that Barbossa's back! I nearly had a heart attack when he walked down those stairs - and I, too, thought it would be Captain Jack.
posted
I thought it was an awesome sequel. Not too long at all in my opinion; never once crossed my mind while watching it. One of my favorite things had to be Jack's entrance, coming out of the coffin--definitely rivals his Pirates 1 entrance. And the water-wheel fight of course, as well as the undead monkey. "Where's that monkey, I need to shoot something." Haha
Posts: 21 | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
It only seemed to drag once to me, when they were doing some ship stuff with the rigging and all that and I wondered why they chose that moment to do a rope pulling montage. Killed the momentum a bit, but it picked up again fast enough.
I too loved the beginning, and the swinging cages. And I loved Barbossa with the apple.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I thought this review was rather unfair. The movie didn't feel long to me at all. King Kong on the other hand felt like sleep therapy it dragged on for so long with useless plot feints.
I think it pushed at a steady pace and never got boring, and the plot was perfectly understandable. Maybe the guy just isn't a fan?
He didn't like the first movie either. I think he's just not that into pirates.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Well, it seems like anyone dead is pretty much fair game to be brought back to life by some twist of fate (such as your friends and enemies going to the "ends of the earth") so... why not?
Perhaps the witch doctor lady magicked him back.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
As soon as I saw that the monkey was still cursed I knew that Barbarossa had managed to nick a coin or that the monkey had brought him one to 'curse him' back to unlife. It was obvious.
As for the plot of the next movie, I have had no time to formulate it, Lady Swan has to decide whether to let Will fester in angst over her kiss, or loose his good impression of her over her tricking Jack. However with Jack's track record this movie he got of light. One wonders why he did not strike out for Davy Jones Heart right away after the last movie, or plunder some towns and retire before time was up.
It would have been a better movie if Jack was a more convincing plunderer, a ship, a town, and couple run ins with the Royal Navy all in a flash montage might have made it more interesting. It also might have added credit to the arrest of Will.
posted
I totally agree that Jack didn't have an opportunity to display his piratey awesomeness. If they had showed anything--a brief scene at the beginning of a ship that had been brilliantly preyed upon by the Pearl, and Beckett (Beckett? whatever. Mr. Collins. the bad English guy.) being furious--that would have been an improvement. I thought this movie lacked the brilliant gorgeous chicanery bits that the first one had (nothing to rival Jack's delightful escape scene at the beginning), and the truly excellent sword-fights (the wheel made me dizzy and I couldn't watch). The loss of Geoffrey Rush was keenly felt, though Bill Nighy was, as is his wont, fantastic.
But I liked it. Elizabeth was beautifully ruthless. I loved the look Jack gave her when she chained him to the ship--like if he hadn't been all chained up and pressed for time he would have taken her in manly fashion right there on the deck. And I'm glad we finally acknowledged that Elizabeth is the piratey pirate girl we always knew she was. And I'm glad Jack got his hat back.
Jen
(I died a little inside when he said, "It's only a ship, mate.")
Posts: 910 | Registered: May 2000
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I thought it was really long, it dragged, there were no fun new quotes, only riffs on the old ones. There was too much CGI, too much action and not enough romance. And they never even dealt with Will seeing Elizabeth kiss Jack Sparrow! I mean, cliffhanger okay, but wtf?!?
I thought it felt a lot like the Empire Strikes Back -- darker, longer, obviously with the cliffhanger -- but I didn't come away with the same satisfaction as I did after I saw tESB for the first time.
Posts: 1784 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
You thought it was DARKER than Empire Strikes Back? Or like ESB it was darker than the first movie?
I didn't notice that the music box at the crazy lady's hut was the same as Jones'. I'll have to double check that next time I see it.
I AM curious as to how Barbossa got back. I don't think he was just magicked back to life, but then, I also don't think that Jack will die. I think he will be captured by the Kraken whole and brought to the ends of the Earth for some reason or another. So I don't think it's a matter of reanimating the dead. Barbossa couldn't have stolen a coin, because when he was shot, he really was alive, hence the blood. I'd say there's a high probability of the monkey having brought him a coin, but maybe there's a different answer.
For all we know, Barbossa made his own deal with Davy Jones that we don't know of, and that is why he is helping them to find Jack and the heart. Actually that makes good sense, why else would he be helping them? Out of the goodness of his own heart? He hates Jack, and them, they undid all his plans.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
"Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that does fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange."
One of my pet peeves is the use of the phrase "sea change." I gotta wonder if the crew of the Flying Dutchman were a reference to this passage.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I enjoyed it for a first time through, but that movie has 12% rewatchability.
Movies have tension and then release, much like a good piece of music.
But like the musical soundtrack in this movie, there's no release. It is a constant bombardment of music. Constant pirate trumpeting, Gladiator-rehashing I might add, with several scenes that could have become great turning points but never do.
Bombastic brass themes and pounding drums a movie does not make, and in this films case it was almost screaming "We're compensating for something!".
That's why some reviewers complain that it's too long. It could be the running time but I'd hazard to say that the reviewers just couldn't sit through over 3 hours of blaring music and 4+ story climaxes that happen with machine gun rapidity, with no release in between said climaxes because there's a constant musical accompaniment that injects false hype into just about everything.
posted
I liked a lot of the music, though I really wish they could have come up with something new other than so much rehashing of the first movie. Main theme repeats are perfectly alright, but they mimicked or downright replayed way too much music from the first movie.
And the first movie sounded too much like Gladiator to begin with.
But I don't think the music as a whole was overcompensating for the movie, I think it complemented it just fine, I only wished for something new. I expect it will have to be redone when they do the third movie, as, well, they won't really be in the Caribbean anymore.
I also thought that it had a lot of great lines. Many of them having to do with the undead monkey. But there was other stuff.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Plus, there is the thumping. The thump, thump, of the canibals drums, Davey Jones walk, Davey Jones's heart, Will's knife into the board at the end of the movie. It was a motif they literally beat into us.
Yes it was a tad long. Most of the canibal segments could have been removed. The action sequences were fun, but outdone by the waterwheel battle. They only added a bit to the plot--how will and the other two joined the crew, and that could have been taken care of without Jack's cabob bit. With that fluff gone, the rest of the movie would have been swifter, and the end of the water wheel bit would not have been--"Didn't we just do this with a ball?"
And I said after the first movie--Elizabet is the greatest pirate ever.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
I have to say, for people supposed to be good with swords, that lot can fence (well, bang their swords together in an amusing fashion, anyway) for an amazingly long time without anyone getting killed. Dudes, the point is not to make a lot of metal-on-metal noise, it is to put your point in the other guy's throat. The point, people; sod the edge, it only wounds.
Apart from that, I liked it quite a lot.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I absolutely hated that Will condemned the English ship to the Kraken. I know he realized it too late, but I didn't enjoy the sequence at all. For the movie to remain light and funny, you had to not care that a ship of innocent bystanders as destroyed. If we do care, then there's no resolution - one throway line, and everyone moves on to more funny antics.
Oh my stars, I thought it was long. There was no actual story. The twenty-minute, racist sequence with the villagers existed in order to make the Jack-kabob joke, and it wasn't worth it.
I agree - zero rewatchability. It was beautiful and the acting was good, so I don't regret seeing it this time, but I can't imagine voluntarily watching it again.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I can. But I could watch it again and again just for the visual. They have to get an Oscar nom for the makeup. It was very difficult to tell which parts were practical effects and which were CGI in Davey Jones's case, at least.
But all that aside, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. Of course, I went into the first one expecting absolutely nothing from it (inspired by an amusement park ride, after all) and was very pleasantly surprised. I went into this one a bit more excited but I wasn't disappointed. I actually want to watch it again just to pick up any little things I missed the first time around.
I see no one has mentioned the various items Jack stole off the witch's table when no one was looking. I wonder if some of those might come into play in the next movie. Maybe something there helps him survive the Kraken mauling.
I did notice the matching music boxes (lockets?), and I'll be surprised if the witch doesn't turn out to be DJ's lost love.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
I got a little bored. The water wheel fight scene was cool, but the saving grace of the movie for me was Elizabeth's crush on Jack. I didn't see it coming. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. Maybe I don't know all of the cliches. But I didn't see it coming. I thought that it was going to be a sappy, true love, only man I could ever imagine for me type of story.
The chemistry between Jack and Elizabeth was believable, and even how it screwed up her compass was interesting. The oracle/magician was well played, and the undead monkey gag never got old. I'm a little sad that it beat out Spiderman because I thought both of the Spidermans were excellent, but the movie was fine.
__
I even think that King Kong was a better movie, but that has everything to do with Naomi Watts being utter believable as the kind of girl both a man and a beast would die for.
Posts: 5600 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I thought the movie was aweful. It seemed like they just threw a script together relying more on the selling points of the first movie than its own merits.
And Orlando Bloom could very well be the worst "actor" of all time.
Posts: 1156 | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
I saw it tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was funny and it was fun. (And I hear from my friends who have watched it more than once that it is more enjoyable the second time around. I don't think it was quite as good as the first one, but it was not at all disappointing. Not four or five stars, but certainly three or three and a half. I am at a loss to grasp the lousy reviews it has gotten (53% fresh at Rottentomatoes, which I usually find trustworthy, and one and a half stars from the Orlando Sentinel). Those people must have seen a different movie. Pirates is this generation's Indiana Jones. Silly, sure, but good fun.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I am at a loss to grasp the lousy reviews it has gotten (53% fresh at Rottentomatoes, which I usually find trustworthy, and one and a half stars from the Orlando Sentinel). Those people must have seen a different movie. Pirates is this generation's Indiana Jones. Silly, sure, but good fun.
That right there makes me wonder if you've seen the Indiana Jones movies. They were great, each able to stand alone as an excellent movie. The first Pirates was excellent, this one was bad! Really. And the reason it got bad reviews is because it was...bad!
Posts: 1156 | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
I don't know about that airman. Temple of Doom was rather terrible in my opinion. Now- The Last Crusade- I could get behind that.
Posts: 980 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
As far as I'm concerned, this one does stand alone. My kids haven't seen the first one (they were too young when it came out). I didn't re-watch it (as I often do before sequels) so I had forgotten most of the details. And it worked just fine for all of us.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I'm with Icky on this one. It's not supposed to be deep, it's supposed to be fun with pirates. Referencing the first movie doesn't make this one worse. The sight gags are still fun, even without the context.
And the Indy movies are self referential too: "What's that?" "The Ark of the Covenant." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure."
posted
You know, I actually really enjoyed Temple of Doom. I don't get all the bad press it gets. Admittedly, Spielberg made one really, really bad casting choice, but we can forgive him in the same way we forgive Paul for putting Linda on keyboard.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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