Finally saw it - slightly disappointed (micro spoilers)...
Saw POTC2 today. Definitely had its moments, but overall I was slightly disappointed, and thought the film was WAY too long... :sleep:
What this movie reminded me of the most was the original Star Wars movies. Like the first SW, the first POTC was magic.
You didn't know the characters or what to expect from them, you didn't know what funny lines of dialogue would be where and by whom, and most of all you had no idea where the story was going, but boy was it a ride...
POTC2 is like Empire Strikes Back is so many ways. We go in knowing the main characters and their relationships, and certainly have expectations of how they should act together in scenes. The dynamics of the second film are of course different, and because of that it now becomes much harder to surprise and entertain us the way the original did...
I was literally waiting for the funny lines to flow from Depp (and some of the others) in this film, but IMO his dialogue and mannerisms (which were a delightful surprise in the first one) seem forced and staged this time around. For me, the sashaying, the exaggerated "double takes", and the signature "shifty eyes" got old...
Much like Leia in SW, Keira Knightly goes from being an object of beauty and desire in the first film to more or less "one of the guys" in 2; a rough and tumble fighter who mixes it up in many of the action scenes (again IMO) simply to get her more screen time.
The sexual tension between her and both Bloom and Depp (wonderful in the first one) is now gone as her relationship with Will Turner is very clear.
They also elevated several funny, but minor characters from the first movie to almost co-stars in this one, most notebly the two doofy pirates from the original ghost ship (one with the wooden eye). They were good for occasional comic relief, but certainly don't deserve the amount of screen time they get in 2.
I guess my biggest complaint is the movie is just too long, stretched out with long CGI battle and fight scenes that just got to be a bit too much for me. Also made the story much harder to follow than the first...
Don't get me wrong, I basically enjoyed the movie, and the amazing makeup on the new villians and characters. I just think it suffered big-time from sequel-itis... :)
But look at it this way: IMO I think the third SW film, Return of the Jedi, was the best of the bunch, and POTC2 ends with a cliff hanger setting up the next film much the same way, so I've got my fingers crossed that POTC3 will rock... :thumbsup:
Re: pirates of the carribean 2
i agree, the movie was a good entertainment, but it wasn't anywhere as good as the first. alot of the lines (esp the one liners playign off the first movie) seemed very forced and not funny. i also HATE when movies so blatently end lke that for a sequal. its different if its lord of the rings style, but these should be able to stand alone, and it really can't with that ending.
i though the special effects, esp teh kraken was very good though. and it was a fun movie to see so i would recomend go see it if you haven't already.