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ruBeing that it's the second day that it's been out and all, the movie theater was frickin' packed for the showing. I'm glad we got our tickets early. Feeling a bit festive, I decided to get into the spirit of things and dressed a little piratey--a white poet's shirt, a multicolored sash, and a pair of boots pillaged from Mum.
So, the non-spoilery version: I liked it. I think the first one was better (as seems to be the way with sequels, disappointingly), but it was still pretty entertaining. I'm glad I went, and it was two and a half hours well spent. I'm ready for the third one, now.
And now, the full blown spoilery version.
The movie definitely had its up points and down points. I do think that, in general, the first one was better than the this one, due to more fun with the screenwriting and a slightly-easier-to-follow story, but it was worth seeing. So, I guess as per my usual way of doing things, I'll do this bullet-style on the various things from the movie I had thoughts on.
Oooooh, Shiny Logo: Just a little aside before we get into things, the Disney logo for the movie was reaaaaaaally cool. Nice coloring and cool flyby and whatnot, while still preserving the basic castle logo.
Jack Sparrow: First, the big guy. I've heard some reviews that say that Jack's character this time around was a little lackluster when put against the first movie, and I think I'm inclined to agree. Don't get me wrong, he's still an awesome character, and he still manages to pull a few laughs out of me, but he simply didn't have the energy he had the first time around. It wasn't an obvious lack, but he didn't seem to have as much of the same mannerisms as he did (though his running is still hilarious), seemed less energetic, and he seemed a bit more predictable. The latter may be due to the fact that I'm 'used' to his character now, but he seems to have lost a bit of the charm he had.
Elizabeth: Definitely stronger than in the first movie. The spunk that she had has developed significantly, and there were times when I found her to be the more entertaining character to watch. You can tell she's a woman slighted at that her wedding was put on hold indefinitely, and by god she's going to put things right.
The Story: Eh. It definitely had its ups and downs. The writing was decent, and there were several lines that left me giggling. There was a large part in the middle,though, where things *really* slowed down, and there was some convoluted things that didn't completely make sense to me. Then there were times where the intracacies of the story really made things interesting, such as the whole deal with the heart. So, it was really hit or miss at times. I'm hoping the third movie will answer a lot of the questions I have from this one.
More Ride References: I was pleased to see they still managed to include a few new references to the ride, such as the man getting dunked in the well and whatnot. Although it begs the question of what else they can bring from the ride into the movie. I think about the only things left they haven't touched are the ones they probably won't want to touch, such as the auction. I guess we'll see.
Um...Curse Explanation, Please?: Something that had kinda bothered me about the first movie was that I couldn't quite figure out why the blood of Bootstrap was needed in order to lift the Aztec curse. Since Bootstrap was actually in this movie, I was kinda hoping maybe we could hear something about why that was, but nope. That was a little disappointing.
Jack's Multiple Eye Makeup: Was just cool.
The Bayou Chick: Strangely enough, I kinda liked her. Maybe it was just her nifty accent, but she was a fun person to watch, all voodoo witchy and all that. And, you know. Jar of dirt. <3
Cthulhu the Pirate Davy Jones: Definitely an interesting character, and one who has more going on than just getting people for his crew and calling the Kraken to do his bidding. I'm going to look forward to seeing more of him in the next movie, and seeing some more about his background and how he managed to turn into what he is. I think that little locket of his has some background to it. And I have to admit, the curling and animation of the tentacles was pretty cool. Which leads me into...
The Crew of the Flying Dutchman: Wow, talk about your special effects overload. However, you really have to admire the amount of sheer detail that was put into the various crewmembers, and how each seems to have his own nautical theme going on. I was having a bit of fun trying to pick out what each of the crew was based on.
Cannon Machine Gun: Yeah, I know it's the Flying Dutchman, and they're all evil and supernatural and scary and whatnot, but there was still something about the triple cannon that screamed "Machine gun anachronism!" to me. Maybe it was the fact that it rotated after firing.
Norrington: I was glad to see him again, strangely enough. He's got a little bit more depth to him, having gone through a lot since the end of the last movie. It'll be interesting to see how he continues to develop, seeing as he's already thrown a huge wrench into the works, as indicated by the end of the movie.
OMG Romance ANGST!!!1: Generally speaking, I don't care much for jealousy/romantic tangles, but there's something about romantic tangles in an adventure movie that really rubs me the wrong way. Having Elizabeth kiss Jack (which Will, of course, sees) really bugged me on several levels. You now know a large portion of the next movie is going to be dedicated to Will angsting over Elizabeth and there'll be lots of unnecessary tension and all of that. This is an adventure movie, folks. A little romance is fine, but let's stick to the main purpose, which is piratin'.
The Ending: OH. MY. GOD. Total cliffhanger. I was cheering on the inside when Barbosa showed up (cheered even more when he finally got to eat his apple), even though I'm still trying to figure out how he's there. I practically yelled out in anguish when the credits started rolling, because I was really wanting to see what was going to happen. Well now, I guess I'll have to see the third one when it gets released. There's been a lot of buildup in this second movie, and it's going to culminate in the third movie. Bring it. <3 <3
So, the non-spoilery version: I liked it. I think the first one was better (as seems to be the way with sequels, disappointingly), but it was still pretty entertaining. I'm glad I went, and it was two and a half hours well spent. I'm ready for the third one, now.
And now, the full blown spoilery version.
The movie definitely had its up points and down points. I do think that, in general, the first one was better than the this one, due to more fun with the screenwriting and a slightly-easier-to-follow story, but it was worth seeing. So, I guess as per my usual way of doing things, I'll do this bullet-style on the various things from the movie I had thoughts on.
Oooooh, Shiny Logo: Just a little aside before we get into things, the Disney logo for the movie was reaaaaaaally cool. Nice coloring and cool flyby and whatnot, while still preserving the basic castle logo.
Jack Sparrow: First, the big guy. I've heard some reviews that say that Jack's character this time around was a little lackluster when put against the first movie, and I think I'm inclined to agree. Don't get me wrong, he's still an awesome character, and he still manages to pull a few laughs out of me, but he simply didn't have the energy he had the first time around. It wasn't an obvious lack, but he didn't seem to have as much of the same mannerisms as he did (though his running is still hilarious), seemed less energetic, and he seemed a bit more predictable. The latter may be due to the fact that I'm 'used' to his character now, but he seems to have lost a bit of the charm he had.
Elizabeth: Definitely stronger than in the first movie. The spunk that she had has developed significantly, and there were times when I found her to be the more entertaining character to watch. You can tell she's a woman slighted at that her wedding was put on hold indefinitely, and by god she's going to put things right.
The Story: Eh. It definitely had its ups and downs. The writing was decent, and there were several lines that left me giggling. There was a large part in the middle,though, where things *really* slowed down, and there was some convoluted things that didn't completely make sense to me. Then there were times where the intracacies of the story really made things interesting, such as the whole deal with the heart. So, it was really hit or miss at times. I'm hoping the third movie will answer a lot of the questions I have from this one.
More Ride References: I was pleased to see they still managed to include a few new references to the ride, such as the man getting dunked in the well and whatnot. Although it begs the question of what else they can bring from the ride into the movie. I think about the only things left they haven't touched are the ones they probably won't want to touch, such as the auction. I guess we'll see.
Um...Curse Explanation, Please?: Something that had kinda bothered me about the first movie was that I couldn't quite figure out why the blood of Bootstrap was needed in order to lift the Aztec curse. Since Bootstrap was actually in this movie, I was kinda hoping maybe we could hear something about why that was, but nope. That was a little disappointing.
Jack's Multiple Eye Makeup: Was just cool.
The Bayou Chick: Strangely enough, I kinda liked her. Maybe it was just her nifty accent, but she was a fun person to watch, all voodoo witchy and all that. And, you know. Jar of dirt. <3
The Crew of the Flying Dutchman: Wow, talk about your special effects overload. However, you really have to admire the amount of sheer detail that was put into the various crewmembers, and how each seems to have his own nautical theme going on. I was having a bit of fun trying to pick out what each of the crew was based on.
Cannon Machine Gun: Yeah, I know it's the Flying Dutchman, and they're all evil and supernatural and scary and whatnot, but there was still something about the triple cannon that screamed "Machine gun anachronism!" to me. Maybe it was the fact that it rotated after firing.
Norrington: I was glad to see him again, strangely enough. He's got a little bit more depth to him, having gone through a lot since the end of the last movie. It'll be interesting to see how he continues to develop, seeing as he's already thrown a huge wrench into the works, as indicated by the end of the movie.
OMG Romance ANGST!!!1: Generally speaking, I don't care much for jealousy/romantic tangles, but there's something about romantic tangles in an adventure movie that really rubs me the wrong way. Having Elizabeth kiss Jack (which Will, of course, sees) really bugged me on several levels. You now know a large portion of the next movie is going to be dedicated to Will angsting over Elizabeth and there'll be lots of unnecessary tension and all of that. This is an adventure movie, folks. A little romance is fine, but let's stick to the main purpose, which is piratin'.
The Ending: OH. MY. GOD. Total cliffhanger. I was cheering on the inside when Barbosa showed up (cheered even more when he finally got to eat his apple), even though I'm still trying to figure out how he's there. I practically yelled out in anguish when the credits started rolling, because I was really wanting to see what was going to happen. Well now, I guess I'll have to see the third one when it gets released. There's been a lot of buildup in this second movie, and it's going to culminate in the third movie. Bring it. <3 <3
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-09 04:28 am (UTC)The blood of EVERYONE who took the gold is needed. Because Bootstrap was among the ones who took the gold (which is why he didn't die when he went overboard strapped to a cannon and needed to bargain with Davy Jones to get out of it), they needed his blood too to break the curse. The crew was one short from the original raiding party because they dumped Bootstrap over the side before spending their ill-gotten gains.
Also, THANK YOU. Nobody besides me went "Cthulhu?" at the previews, and a couple people didn't even know what a Cthulhu was. ._.
This was apparently a movie for ROLLING THINGS. Bone cages, water wheels...
Did you stay until the credits were over? There's a scene at the VERY VERY VERY END, with the cannibal islanders. They made the dog their chief. n_n
As for the locket- DIDJA NOTICE? The bayou chick has A MATCHING LOCKET. The plot thickens.
Jar of dirt = <3
Undead monkey = <3
"*BLAM*"
"You know that doesn't do anything."
"And yet I still find it satisfying."
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-10 04:16 am (UTC)I did see the very end! It made me happy, because I was worried for the dog when the islanders ran after him after Jack and co. got away. Although, if they made him their chief, I guess that means they'll be roasting him too. ;_;
OOH, I DID NOT NOTICE. It is very intriguing, though! And I like that they slipped something that subtle in that'll likely have an impact on the third movie. I'll need to watch for the bayou chick's locket the next time I watch the movie.
<3 Undead monkey too.