I agree, quite simply with most of what was said. I don't want to say much because of spoilers of a new film but the great blend of comedy in the film made it enjoyable and exciting. I especially liked the rozencrantz and guildenstern ish characters from the first one becoming more developed and fun in this film. Any comments?
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
*giggling*
I wasn't going to see the second movie, 'cause they're rarely worth it, but after that delightful review, I think I will . . .
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I agreed with much of it. I think he made too much of a deal about the fact that the movie 'doesn't end.'
Of course it ends...in a cliffhanger. Did he complain when Two Towers left us at a cliffhanger, or Fellowship? And then they made us pay to see the end not once, but TWICE for that series of movies. It DOES end, rather fantastically I think. But it's a cliffhanger, so there's still more! And be thankful the end is only a year away. Remember the old days when it took a decade for a trilogy to finish?
That and I spotted Bill Nighy halfway through the movie as Davy Jones, solely from seeing him in Love, Actually. But that's great, I loved what he brought to the role.
Posted by Lucky_Sean (Member # 6223) on :
yeah but lord of the rings had a form of denouement whereas in pirates it did just sorta skip directly into credits.
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
Well, with Lord of the Rings, we already knew that there would be no ending, that it was one story told in three parts. Well, most of us knew. There were people around me in the theater at the end of Fellowship who were very shocked and surprised. "What!?!?! That's the end!?!?!" I think Card is trying to forstall that sort of reaction. If you know that there is going to be no ending when you walk into the theater, you will not be left flatfooted at the end of the picture.
Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
I thought there was going to be an ending and I was blown out of the water when it did, especially with the person who happened to show up at that time. I thought it ended spectacularly, because I was so bamboozled that I can barely wait to see the next movie, while in LOTR I was irritated at how abrupt an ending it was.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
On reading this review, I couldn't help but remember the irritation of some at the "ending" of Rachel and Leah.
In related news, I saw a Matrix Reloaded cookie tin at the flea market yesterday.
But yeah, I'll look forward to seeing this. The other person I know who saw it said it was a lot like Star Wars for some reason.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The only Star Wars reference I saw in the movie was the resemblence of the Kraken to the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Karkoon.
I guess that makes Jack Sparrow into Boba Fett.
I don't know, maybe I need to watch it again, and I knew ahead of time that it was going to be a cliffhanger, especially knowing how they filmed it and the intention of it being more or less a duology, or part of a trilogy. So I wasn't bothered by it, on the contrary I was twice as excited when I saw who showed up at the end.
Oh, another possible Star Wars reference. This is looking a bit on the surface like the original trilogy. In the first movie all three of them met up, two of them respectable and one a rogue, and accomplished something or another. In the second movie, the lead character (arguable in this case) meets back up with his father, and and the rogue is lose to them, needed to be rescued in the next movie. And in this case the rogue is taken by the Kraken instead of Boba Fett. So they make plans to get him back at the beginning of the next movie, only instead of Jabba it'll be something else.
Same basic plot, but the devil is in the details, it's not really the same thing at all, just some funny coincidences. But I wonder how many were really mad at the end of Empire Strikes Back when Han was taken away and the movie just sort of ended, and they had to wait 3 years to see how it ended.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:The only Star Wars reference I saw in the movie was the resemblence of the Kraken to the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Karkoon.
If resemblances count, don't you think those things that the pirates try to poke each other with bear some simularity to light sabers?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I meant something more specific.
Not in the same way that Orlando Bloom and Mark Hamill both resemble males.
I also meant something more specific than just physical appearance.
But then I guess catching on to that would ruin all your snarky fun. Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
Of course the whole concept of a pirate ship is taken from spaceships...
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lucky_Sean: yeah but lord of the rings had a form of denouement whereas in pirates it did just sorta skip directly into credits.
Sort of like the second (and best, in my opinion) Back To The Future movie.
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 5938) on :
quote:...they're going to make us wait a year and a quarter for the second half of a movie we already paid for.
Fortunately, they're actually only going to make us wait just under 11 months. The movie is slated for release on Memorial Day weekend next year.
Posted by forensicgeek (Member # 8430) on :
My dad and I laughed so hard reading his review. And it was probably that which we read that tipped the boat in favor of seeing the movie. Which we did and I found Card's review most accurate. There was no ending. But thinking back on it I'm not sure how much of an ending they could have given it without continuing into the next story. and while we will all go pay the money to see the next one, I doubt anybody could stand 5 hours of Pirates in one sitting. By breaking it up gags don't get old, and after a year of waiting we won't mind going to see it again. And while it didn't top the first movie, it wasn't near as bad as most sequels are. One thing i did enjoy was the soundtrack, I thought it was well done and accented the movie wonderfully.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I went to see the movie this past weekend. I'm really glad I had read OSCs review before I went to see it. Knowing that the movie wouldn't resolve itself helped immensely, and we weren't at all disappointed in the ending. In fact, I thought it was fantastic; an excellent cliffhanger that definitely makes me want to see the third movie, but answered enough questions to be satisfying.
Although, I was a little surprised at how large a role the two pirates from the first movie took. I thought they were there for comic relief, but it turns out they become almost central figures.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Now if only we could learn their names...hehe
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:The only Star Wars reference I saw in the movie was the resemblence of the Kraken to the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Karkoon.
If resemblances count, don't you think those things that the pirates try to poke each other with bear some simularity to light sabers?
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Glad that some of you at least got my point: I warn you that it doesn't end, but that it's worth seeing anyway. That's a GOOD review. Not a condemnation of it for not having an ending.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
No kidding. I don't know how many reviews I've seen so far from "critics" that jab at it for just that reason. In fact, I can't recall many of their reviews that showed positive views of the film. Most of them just gave it a D+ grade or thumbs down.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Last I checked, RottenTomatoes had it at 53%.
@ RottenTomatoes
Posted by Mathematician (Member # 9586) on :
quote:Originally posted by Javert: Now if only we could learn their names...hehe
If you have pirates on DVD, you can learn at least one name. Just put on subtitles (a habit I picked up from watching anime). One of them (I think the skinny one) is named "Daggot" or something similar. I don't know if the other one is named in the subtitles though, I only half pay attention to who's saying it ;-) (in fact, my wife, not I, noticed that Daggot was named).
On an unrelated note, I found pirates 2 to be one of the best movies I've seen, and I honestly believe that knowing it would have no ending made the lack of ending unbearable. Thanks Mr. Card!
Posted by JLM (Member # 7800) on :
I thought the film went on for too long. It felt like they just kept looping the same shots over and over again during the repeated Kracken attacks. It got rather tedious.
And the whole part with the cannibles. Needless, pointless and frankly kinda dumb.
The endless, frantic action/commedy scenes that did nothing to advance the plot just blurred together and left me hoping the the movie would just end for about the last 30 minutes. A movie that is 2.5 hours long needs more "down time".
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I also thought it would have been a much better movie if it was 20 minutes shorter. Some of the action/fight scenes went on to long. In particularly the one in the wheel seemed to go on forever.
Posted by cochise (Member # 9614) on :
Originally the movies were going to be released only a few months apart, like the Matrix sequels, so thats why the ending left so much to be desired. But the movie as a whole was still a little confusing, and it seems like, besides the action, the director was just looking to get the meat of the story into the final movie.
And where were the two pirates from the first movie who were arrested in the middle of the ocean with the dog? I never understood that...
The movie was lots of fun though. Based on some of the jokes that were repeated I can guess some of the scenes they will use in the next movie already...(i.e. I think the sea turtles were mentioned once too many times to just be a coincidence.)
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I like nitpicking, so here we go. The movie used a lot of references to Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Treasure Island". Some of them were incorrect. Booo! The movie was good. I saw it yesterday for my birthday. My favourite part was when Jones played the organ. Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
quote:Originally posted by cochise: And where were the two pirates from the first movie who were arrested in the middle of the ocean with the dog? I never understood that...
Those two pirates were the ones thath kidnapped Elizabeth in the first movie, during the initial invasion of the island.
Posted by oolung (Member # 8995) on :
and the dog was the one that didn't want to bring Jack the cell keyes.
I loved the cannibals part. Hilarious!
Only thing I didn't like was what Elizabeth did at the end: that was so not like her! And the person at the VERY end: I love that person, but that was a litlle bit over the top.
Can't wait to see the next movie, though
(And I loved seeing Mr Collins from the Pride and Prejudice as one of the bad guys!)
Posted by cochise (Member # 9614) on :
Yeah I know they were from the first movie, what I meant to say is that they just instantly show up in the second movie with no explanation as to what they were doing and how they escaped. I know its a small thing but it seemed kinda dumb to just throw them back into the story with no real explanation.
Posted by Keith (Member # 9640) on :
Note: Uncle Orson Reviews Everything needs to be added the Rotten Tomatoes. Lend some reason to the list!
Posted by Karmen (Member # 9666) on :
I adored the film. My grandparents thought me strange for going dressed up as a pirate, but what cha gonna do? I didn't go in prepared for a cliffhanger ending; so of course I was left gaping like a fish when the screen suddenly went black. Can't wait for memorial day. My friends and I plan to marathon it before the premier, same as we did for LotR right before the third came out. I love DVDs.
Posted by Gwen (Member # 9551) on :
My mom thought that I was crazy to want to bring a towel to the movies when we went to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I managed to convince her to bring one too. She refuses to celebrate Talk Like A Pirate Day, however.
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![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
@ RottenTomatoes
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