OK, I'm going tonight but I wanted to post this as a prelim statement for comparison afterward:
It's summertime. I want to watch big budget action movies with some fun to them.
X-Men 3 may have been weaker on story and plots, thus not quite as good as its predecessors, but it was a lot fun.
Superman Returns may have been a wonderful homage film with some beautiful visual effects but it meandered, went on forever and wasn't as much fun as its predecessors.
Frankly, you can say Superman is a better movie (and from a certain standpoint I agree), but X-Men was far more fun (heck, in the context of the summer I thought Devil Wears Prada was more fun to watch than Superman). I'm anticipating enjoying Pirates more than Superman because, it seems like a whole lot more fun even if it isn't as good as its predecessor.
We'll see if I still feel the same way coming out.
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Last edited by Deus Ex Machina; 07-07-2006 at 01:56 PM.
I liked the last shot, that was kind of cool. Overall it was far too similar to the first one even to the point where they brought back characters who had no place being involved and exact or modified lines of dialouge.
Yeah, you're right. Some other specific problems that I had
-The escape from the natives was completly pointless. It wasn't part of the story, it wasn't really inovative, it wasn't great action, it wasn't funny. In a movie that's well over two hours, they should have cut the whole sequence.
-Jack sets Will up to serve on The Dutchman for 100 years, tries to get Norrington to kill him, hits him in the head with an oar and then makes out with his fiancee, and Will's all ready to sign up for the quest to rescue him. Just like that.
-In the same vein, I like the character that Jack is, where he really seems to be a true bad guy almost, but the feel for it is all wrong. He's horrible to the other two protagonists, but the tone is still the comedic interplay of the first film, not something darker.
-I really don't like how they brought back Norrington and the two comic relief pirates. It's the kind of lazy writing that shows that they really have no artistic interest in the sequel. That said, I liked the character of Norrington in this one.
-The swordfights were not shot well at all. Too many cuts and too many closeups.
-On the whole, I was underwhelmed by the visuals. I liked the ship coming up from the ocean and going back in. I was less impressed by the animation of Davy Jones and his crew. It just didn't look good to me.
arrr, he might be right at some points 1st one was better, didnt quite get the emphasis of the chest (hence change of name title to In Search of a Key may fit better). They shouldve cut some parts out.. but I think they also cut wrong parts out that they shouldve put in. Jack was funny but not that funny. Anyway 2.5 / 5 sorry (oh and for Superman 2/5 )
They just brought nothing new to the table except a lot of special effects. It's still trading on the old movie.
Ironically, that's the same thing a lot of people are complaining about with Superman. The sequels this summer just aren't what they could be.
To follow up on my previous post...WAY more fun to watch than Superman, but still WAY too long. I have to agree with Karl: the entire natives section could have been completely cut out (although then they would have had to find some other cutesy ending with the dog becoming the next god of the tribe).
Nighy was genius, even under all that special effects.
I'm a little miffed about the voodoo woman. I love the idea of the character, but isn't she a little young to be dispensing all that wisdom? Where's the middle aged, over weight, stereotype voodoo woman? That would have been a lot cooler and more interesting.
Best part was where they took the Norrigington and Governor Swan characters.
Worst part was where they took the Elizabeth character. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She had her wedding away from her. And yet all she could do during the sword fight was stand a hundred feet away and throw rocks? Lame. She should have had way more bite, the kind she showed when she chained Jack to the ship.
P.S. I love that they brought back Barbossa, but have no clue how they're going to explain how he got back. I'm pretty sure that even with voodoo you have to have the body.
Also, how on earth did the monkey get from Isla de Muerta to the Black Pearl?
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"Protect your chicken from Dokken"
Last edited by Deus Ex Machina; 07-07-2006 at 11:36 PM.
Just saw it today. I liked it for the most part. It wasn't as good as the original, but it was still pretty good.
The Krackan was pretty awesome, even if we didn't see all of it. The return of Captain Barbossa was interesting, though I'm not sure how he returned if Jack killed him in the first film. Guess that will be explained in PotC3.
It was waaaay too long. It should have been edited down much more than it was. The section near the middle with the island of cannibals was really unneeded and could have been cut out.
All in all, 6.5/10
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Last edited by Luthien Tinuviel; 07-08-2006 at 12:06 AM.
Ironically, that's the same thing a lot of people are complaining about with Superman.
1. It hasn't been twenty years since we last saw Captain Jack Sparrow, so there's no reason to pay homage to anything he's done. Pirates hasn't earned the right to good old days syndrome. Get back to me when Pirates has 75 years of history behind it.
2. Captain Jack Sparrow doesn't have a whole subplot about returning to find his world and the people he loved changed. Actually, he has no subplot at all. He does do some running and screaming though. Does that count?
Ok, that's the last I'm saying about Superman in this thread. You go ahead and keep looking for ways to bash it if you want. I'm not getting sucked in again!
josh...i read your review, and i have to argue with how BTF2 is remembered. in my opinion that movie is the best back to the future- dare i say movie- maybe ever. what do you have to say for yourself comparing this reasonably good movie with the cinematic genius that had parents scouring toys r us for a matel hoverboard?
It had it's moments. Some parts were good - others very dull, boring, and dragging.
Bad pacing. Dragging, dull bits.
30-40 minutes too long.
Horribly unsatisfying ending. Just when it was starting to get good again – it ends. WTF. That is not an ending!
They could have made it 30 minutes shorter AND had an ending.
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Saw it tonight. Had its very dull moments and had its good moments. The very last scene with Capt. Barbosa was awesome and made me lean more towards actually liking the movie in my opinion.
Also haven't had this much trouble finding a seat in the theater for a movie since Titanic's glory days.
josh...i read your review, and i have to argue with how BTF2 is remembered. in my opinion that movie is the best back to the future- dare i say movie- maybe ever. what do you have to say for yourself comparing this reasonably good movie with the cinematic genius that had parents scouring toys r us for a matel hoverboard?
I have to say for myself that it's my opinion not yours?
Also, I don't base my judgement of movies on whether or not it presents good toy buying opportunities.
At the time BTTF 2 came out, it was regarded as something of a miss, then BTTF 3 came along and was a big hit, leaving BTTF 2 regarded mostly as a transition movie.
None of what you said disproves that. The fact that you think it's the best one of the lot doesn't mean that's what public perception was.
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