I say we ban matatonio.

Secong viewing, and probably my last one.

I went again because I was a little disappointed, because there were some plot points I didn't get, because "second viewing conversions" are common (FotR), and because I wanted to see Blooms pretty face again.

I feel much better about DMC now that I've seen it again. It's still not near as good as the first one, but I can't expect that. The first one had an amazing screenplay, while this one is all action and slapstick. I still feel the cannibal island scene could have been cut in half or eliminated altogether. Still, the screenplay hangs together, and answered my plot point questions.

I almost understand the Liar's Dice game, enough to know that Will Turner Senior made an impossible claim, and lost on purpose to save Will. I understood who had the Heart at the end. Not sure how the heart will help the India East Company, but that's for the next movie.

How did Will swim to that island? He doesn't. He escapes with the key onto the Extraneous Third Ship (the same one that Eliz stowaways on). Then when the Kracken destroys the Extraneous Third Ship, Will escapes back onto the Dutchman, where he hides, and rides to the Island with the chest. I wish they could have explained that Extraneous Third Ship better.

Sounds complex, but Black Pearl was the same way. I guess that's a PotC trademark, where you need to see it twice to get everything.

MikeQ, it WAS apparent from Black Pearl that they weren't planning on a sequel. In the Black Pearl, that compass pointed to Isle de Muerta, which was what Jack wanted. Now it points to what you want. Cool. And btw, when the Pearl is about to be eaten by the Kracken, Jack rows away, but he feels guilty, and isn't sure he wants to run away. So he pulls out the compass to find out what he really wants. Jack comes back to the Pearl, so I assume the compass pointed to the Pearl.

I'll move my grade from B to B+.

EDIT: For a complete description of Liar's Dice in PotC2, see here: http://newheiser.googlepages.com/Liar'sDice.
And I LOVE how fast the description of the game showed up on the internet! SUCH a fanboy thing to do. It brings back fond memories of FotR. Fans assembled a complete online transcription of the FotR dialogue within 48 hours. If there was an ambiguity, someone would go pay to see FotR again just for the one line. Oh, the joy of fanbases...

aaw c'mon, you know its true

I loved the movie A+

if the East India Company has the heart, they control Davey Jones. If they control Davey Jones, they control the seas. If they control the seas, they are filthy rich. simple.

B+


To put it right ahead of my reviews - I enjoyed this film slightly less than the first one (which I graded an A-), but it is still one of the best summer blockbusters this year.

I loved the opening with Will's and Elizabeth's arrest. The rain scene was beautifull shot. Then, Jack's introduction is at least on par with the first film. However, what comes after that are about 45 minutes of an unnecessary complex plot and a dragging storyline. Now I thought the major problem of the first movie and the reason why I did not give that one a higher grade was that it simply dragged at some point, especially towards the end. Now in the case of this film, it is even worse. The whole first half of the film drags more than it should and the entire movie is a good 15-20 minutes too long. This comes in even worse considering that it felt like this movie had even less action than the first one. Overall, it just seemed as a huge set-up for a bombastic third part which I hope will pay off for the sluggish pace of this flick.

Now as far as the storyline itself goes, I liked it, but I wish it would have been more simplistic like the first film. The cast is pretty good all-around. Johnny Depp is brilliant and with the role of Jack Sparrow he set a monument for himself for decades to be remembered. If it was up to me, I'd award him an Oscar nomination once again for the role as he was every bit as good as in the first film, albeit a tad more serious. Thankfully, Orlando Bloom didn't get much to do this time around, other than some fighting scenes, so it never becomes obvious how bland and untalented of an actor he is. Keira Knightley's part was fleshed out and she does a splendid job at it. Naomie Harris' Tia Dalma is a great addition to the film and I am looking forward to seeing more of her in the next sequel. Jack Davenport is very good as well. Bill Nighy's Davy Jones is good, but I thought that Rush's Barnossa made a better villain in the last part.

Speaking of Davy Jones, the movie's visual effects are simply top-notch. His face with the tentacles...wow. All his minions on the Flying Dutchmen are perfect CGI/make-up creations. The Best Visual Effects Oscar (which it will get) will be very well-deserved. The Kraken (a few sloppy shots aside) was just awesome and the scenes in which he destroys the ships rocked. Overall, I see Oscar noms raining for this movie. All technical aspects were strong. The art direction, the make-up, the cinematography, the visual effects, the costumes and all the rest. I was just not fond of the editing.

As I said above, the slow-ish pace resulting from the complex plot is my major complaint once again. The movie only picks up at the halfway point, when Will finally steals the key. From that moment on, the film is just an excellent summer fun rollercoaster of the kind that I haven't seen since King Kong. I still think that the movie overall lacked action, but I must say that the final 30 minutes are packed with it and the whole finale is just nonstop fun. The best scenes are the 3-way fight between Norrington, Sparrow and Will, followed by the waterwheel sequence and the attack of Davy Jones' folks. Sparrow running behind the wheel is just hilarious.

Humor-wise, the movie is at least on par with the original. My favorite lines are probably "Don't touch my dirt!" and "I'm deeply flattered, lad, but my first and only love is the sea.".

The ending was very well-done and certainly not a disappointing cliffhanger. Seriously, the final 20 seconds (or so) of the film were just ingenius. I loved Barbossa's character in the first film and while I knew he'd be in the second at some point, by the time of the ending, I completely forgot about that. His appearance is just great and there were quite a couple of people clapping at my showing when he showed up. Hopefully, he is featured a lot more in the sequel.

On the whole, it is a fun summer film, like they should be made. It could have been better with some fixed editing, less time spent on the cannibal island and a little bit more action, but I can't say I was disappointed. It is worse than the first film, but this still shapes up to be a very enjoyable trilogy. Johnny Depp once again elevates the material to a higher level than it should be and he still is the one who makes this film.

Great review lecter

There's the red flag warning sign!

The 3rd best film of 2006, but the most entertaining.

A+

Wow, nobody really hasn't seen reviewed the film since July?

Anyway, I haven't seen it since a second viewing in August, and it definitely pales in comparison to the endlessly entertaining original. Maybe it'll work better when AWE comes out.

I got it for Christmas.

It was just kind of... bleh. Lots and lots and lots of action, but kind of hollow. And they added a love triangle in the mix... THANKS! :middlefinger:

(and I swear, if I had a nickle every time someone saw someone they loved kissing someone else, I would be a trillionaire. I am quite sick of that)

**

The first was much better.

I loved it. Fun and exciting, and I just love me some Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley (who I actually felt was a little blah). Even Orlando Bloom was tolerable.


Could've done with fewer bad teeth, but they're pirates!

On a random note, I would've liked the ending to DMC better if it was the rumored spoiled one... Jack waking up in hell and standing face to face with Barbosa.

This film is so freaking conflicting. One side of me wonders if everyone involved was drunk while making it (Except the production designers and VFX workers, much deserving of the kudos sent their way by the Academy), hence why it's such an aimless mess in plot and execution. The other side just enjoyed myself and was left wanting more.

**.5 seems like a good compromise.

Bring on At World's End!

Nothing close to the original, but not awful. B Really interested in AWE though.

Where's the new thread for the 3rd one. Cause I already saw it.

And did you like it?

I fucking love this movie. It feels crisper, more sure of itself than the original, and it never feels muddled or overlong like the middle 45 minutes of the first do. Dead Man's Chest is darker and more complex than the original, and leads into the best Pirates film, At World's End.

People criticize it for not being as much fun, and not simple like the first. But this is what leaves more of a lasting impression on the viewer. The fourth returned to a more simplistic, fun approach, and it wasn't nearly as good in result (though I still enjoyed it very much).

Dead Man's Chest is a perfect sequel in one of the best film franchises of all time.

A+

This is still good, but it does share the Gibbsposition problem the others have. These movies could have been 15 minutes shorter, each, if they didn't have to stop and explain the plot so often.

All three sequels are a fucking chore to sit through now. At least the 4th realized what it was. Even the first which I used to love has aged a bit. The very definition of a fad series.

COBP- A
DMC- C+
AWE- D
OST- B-

What did it realize? It still stuck with its overcomplicated plotlone. Jack and Barbosa are racing Blackbeard to the Fountain of Youth. That's a movie right there. Why did we need so much nonsense with the cups?

Dead Man's really didn't even need the exposition. It has good structure and isn't too complicated. The motivation of every main character is pretty straight forward and understandable.

It makes it more interesting to have more elements. It's not made for 5 year olds.

Those elements take away the character moments people want to see though. They don't wanna hear ten minutes of exposition about trading lifeforce's. I can get magical nonsense anywhere. Do some actual pirating! Arrrrrrr!!!

It's standalone and at least tries to be fun. 2 and 3 desperately tried to make the series epic and just failed. The drama is awful, and the cgi is nauseating.