Agree...
Sparrow lost his native innocence... Hollywood always writes blacker for sequels, it seems..
"let's make it three pounds, and no name" - Sparrow coming ashore in CotBP......

I liked this quote from a reviewer on another site:

I enjoyed it. It's a flat out beautiful looking movie, the sets, makeup, costumes are brilliant again. Depp does his act again and is great at it. Never really liked Bloom or Knightly from the first movie. It's a fun summer movie that leads in pretty well for a third movie.

-B+

SO much better than the first, a classic with me.

A+

My cardinal rule is that all movies should be able to stand alone, sequel or not. POCII, broke this rule. It left us hanging at the end. All movies should have a conclusion. Even the LOR trilogy had conclusions to each movie, even though it was part of an ongoing saga. There were too many loose ends in POC II. So I would give it a C. But I still have hopes for POC III.


I loved what the writers did with the character of the Commodore. He was sexy and rakish. On the otherhand, I hated the flirty and ambivalent relationship between Captain Jack and Elizabeth.

Can you give some examples of sequels that stood on their own?

Straight stand-alone episodes: James Bond.
Straight "to be continued" halves of one movie: Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions.
Everything else falls into the vast sea of shades of gray and I have no idea where you draw the line. Is there even a line? NO WAY am I going to get into this argument.

It actually reminded me of King Kong, too (though differently for me): It was also a film that I went into expecting tedium and general overblown-ness but ended up loving.

Which is even weirder for me, considering I like Curse of the Black Pearl but was never one to sing its praises.

Maybe I should watch the first one again, but I just don't remember laughing as much there as I did here. And this one didn't feel nearly as plodding to me as the other did.

I loved it.

Ill do one, Back to the Future Part 2, my favorite of the series It wraps up nicely, then a new problem emerges right at the end, the perfect cliffhanger. POTC followed in Reloaded's steps though as trying to have too much of a cliffhanger that they didn't save a lot for the 2nd film, other than trying to wow us.

Ill also admit that the LOTR and Star Wars films were great at telling a story and wrapping it well for the next.

How is the end of DMC any different from BTTF2? In both, a well-liked character supposedly perishes, and at the very end, a glimmer of hope is given to the audience by letting them know there's a possibility of saving said well-liked character.

I really see no difference.

I myself see DMC as a great parallel to ESB, just as I find PotC in a broader sense a great parallel to Star Wars.... Just as long as Will and Liz don't turn out to be siblings, that is. LOL

Joy

In BTF2, there was one story, not elements that would rollover to the 3rd. They needed to try and prevent the future, and ultimately had to fix the pass so their present would stay the same. That was the story. It was wrapped up perfectly, and then in the last 5 minutes, Dob Brown was blown up as it seemed. Then Marty gets information to where he is, so looks for the one man who can help him, Doc Brown, 55. Althought he plotline is somewhat confusing, with time travel, when is it not.

In Pirates, You had a betrayel by Jack for no reason, (Not yet anyway) The Commondore, has agendas that haven't been explored. Elizabeth might not be in love with Will. Jack could be dead. Davy Jones is never finished, nor is Will's Father freed. Why the Brittish need Davy Jones' Heart.

and of course my favorite, as cool as this was.

Why in the Hell is Barbosa there, he died in the last one. No explanation at all.

He was shown twice the first time they went to the hut. The explanation certainly has to do with the fact that he was unconscious in the hut.

I myself love multi-threaded cliffhangers like this. It takes more skill to write one; also, movies that can stand alone add up to a weak series.

I watched Black Pearl last night (first time I've seen it since I saw it in theaters), and I'm still of the opinion that Dead Man's Chest is actually... superior (way superior!). Pearl is more low-key, more swashbuckling and less giant computerized squid, but I think Dead Man's Chest has a lot more energy and is more successful in sustaining its runtime. And it's funnier.

Still love it.

C
Comes nowhere close to the original in humor, originality, suspense and just overall quality.
Still, I'll see the third.
And not enough Keira!

Absolutely loved it. The disappointment of some got to me right away, and I thought I was in for a major letdown. But, I surely was not. I LOVED it.

As for comparisons, I thought the first and second were great, and they're easily two of my favorites of all-time. Something that I got to thinking when I watched Black Pearl the other day, then Dead Man's Chest today is that the first was really made with the intention of doing just the one. I don't think anyone anticipated $305 million for the first. And while a sequel was all but certain, even before it became a huge hit, I'm sure it wasn't intentionally made as the first of a trilogy.

I loved how everything was set up for At World's End. I loved the characters (Depp is always a major asset, while I think Knightley is a million fold better than the first film... Bloom? Well, he's Will Turner... no more, no less). I loved the big scenes of the film. Unlike King Kong, which I felt aimlessly meandered for an hour, any down time during Dead Man's Chest was short and in the middle of two great scenes.

I'm probably just really pumped from just seeing it, but for now, I really, really, REALLY loved it.

Grade: A (sounds like A+, I know, but I'll go safe with an A)

Curse of the Black Pearl: A-
Dead Man's Chest: A

I have not seen The Black Pirate, and POTC1 and 2 are GREAT pirate movies.

This is definately much better than the first film. A few things:

There were lots of huge belly laughs. The "we've ran out of powder"... "Then put in the rum." scene was classic. EVERY single adult in the theatre was bursting out laughing. And it wasn't even the comment, it was the reaction to the comment. There were also subtle lines that weren't set up obviously, and were very well done (the bible line, etc).

The passing around of the heart scene was incredibly well written and constructed. First it's in the chest, then Jack takes it out of the chest and puts in his "jar of dirt". Meanwhile, the rest still think it's in the chest. Then they're fighting out in the water, and Norrington notices dirt in the boat, and realizes the heart is in the jar. He takes the heart while Will returns to the boat, who thinks it is in the chest. But he see's it has been opened with the key still in it, and then believes it is in the dirt. Will, who believes it is in the dirt jar in the boat, tries to fight off Pintel and Raggeti who believe it is in the chest... in the boat. Meanwhile, Norrington has the heart all along. Norrington stays on the island, pretends to be all heroic with the chest, and Jack let's him go because he believes he has the heart in his jar of dirt. So everyone else leaves back to the Black Pearl, and Jack has his jar of dirt which he believes contains the heart (but no one else knows), and he waves it around at Davy Jones for negotiation. Jones thinks Jack is crazy, and attacks the ship. Eventually, Jack's jar of dirt is smashed, and he realizes the heart is gone. Just phenomenal camera work and construction of the entire sequence. So well played out.

I liked how the film is tied to the first film by several things. It makes for a good continued story. For one, it is tied together centrally by Jack's compass. He had this dratted compass the whole time, which we were made to believe is just some broken compass that Jack still uses, but ends up being an important item that has a purpose, and explains why the compass never seems to point in the right direction. Characters visit places that we've already seen visited in the first film, and ideas from the first film carry on into this one. It always felt right when a character popped into the film that was from the first film.

Johnny Depp is as great as ever, still making for some totally comical or interesting scenes solely because of him and his character. Kiera Knightley is solid, and Orlando Bloom is less annoying than usual.

Action scenes were appropriately used and unique to watch. When Jack, Will and Norrington are all fighting together (every man for himself) and Elizabeth is going hysterical was very funny (meanwhile Pintel and Raggati are taking the very chest they are fighting over).

It is absolutely AMAZING that Davy Jones is a completely CGI character. Stunning work of CGI. The tentacle movements, the face twitching, the eyes moving, all of it made this piece of CGI a completely thriving, real character.

The ending will certainly get seats filled for the third film. I did not expect this! I want to know what happens now.

And one of my favourite ideas of the film, that allowed it to have a thematic core and make it less predictable, was the moral ambiguity surrounding Jack. In the first film, he passes off as a good guy (a sort of hero), and now we get to see the true pirate in him. We never did know what Jack would do. Great job writers!

There are little things here and there that could have been better (like most films), but overall, I consider this a great success. I liked the first film, but wasn't totally enthralled by it. For me, the sequel has outdone the original, and with the ending I have gotten, I can't wait for the third.

B+

(P.S. Can someone tell me how that dice game works?? It seemed really cool, but I didn't quite get how it worked.)

One question, actually: Why does Elizabeth join the rest of the crew in wanting to save Jack? She had to CHAIN him to the Black Pearl to keep him there. Jack didn't actually WANT to stay and save the rest by staying on the ship. I know that he did come back on his own to help them, which was an unselfish act, but when they last left eachother, she was upset. I don't understand. She thinks he is a good man, and thanked him for coming back, but then does the whole kiss thing and chains him to the ship. I'm just a little bit confused. Did she want him to die? Because she would have known chaining him to the ship so he can't leave would get him eaten by the squid. Just need some clarification.

PEACE, Mike.

To be absolved of the guilt she felt for chaining Jack to the ship.


In a sense. The Kraken was after Jack and the ship, as long as they took Jack with them they were put in danger. Elisabeth made the decision to be a pirate and "leave a man behind" that would slow them down.

Of course, she felt guilty. That makes total sense. Silly brain fart on my part.

I sorta wish that the kiss thing was resolved now, and not having to wait until movie 3 for that in particular. Will is hurt and thinks that she loves Jack, with her comments and all. But that's a minor complaint.

Overall, great movie. I still can't get over some scenes. I was very entertained by this one.

PEACE, Mike.

When Jack was fleeing in the longboat, he took a peek at his compass before heading back to the Pearl. He may have intentions that are yet unspoken, and being eaten by the Kraken may have been part of his plan.

The game is liar's dice. Not a Disney invention. It's a positively fun way for three roommates to settle squabbles - you can try it too, it's like BS but more fun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar%27s_dice

I have to admit that after waiting 2 weeks to see this after it feels like everyone else in the free world did, I came out a little bit disappointed, especially considering how much I loved the first one. It was definitely enjoyable and a solid picture overall, but I felt it was lacking in some of the charm/breeziness of the original. It was also way too long, giving it a bloated feel at times. Johnny Depp is awesome as Captain Jack again, although I feel like the part was downsized (?). Orlando Bloom has improved as an actor since the original, although I found myself wanting to get back to Jack or Elizabeth whenever Will was on screen. Speaking of Elizabeth, Keira Knightley has also clearly matured as an actress since the original (I suppose an Oscar nomination will do that to you) and gives a delightful performance. I enjoyed the double cliff-hanger at the end. In essence, I feel like part of the problem with Pirates 2 was the fact that it felt more like set-up for a third movie than a stand-alone movie. Overall, I thought it was about in the same league as the rest of the big summer blockbusters this summer. B

Same damn problem as the first; too long and too boring. IMO it was far worse than the original (C+), the comedic scenes this time were forced to death, and the plot was to complicated, senseless and down right stupid. There were so many absurd or uninteresting plot twists and it takes a 2 1/2 hour journey to absolutely nowhere. This is just a stupid random storyline to set up for the third part.

Johnny Depp seemed to be trying too hard to be Jack Sparrow; he didn't have his charm like in Black pearl. Everything was way over the top and unbelievable.

The movie had its moments of course, the only thing GREAT about the movie was the SFX, if it wasn't for that I wouldn't be giving it such grade.

D+

This movie should have been easily made in a hour 1/2 film

yup!