Now this looks really cool.
I know. I was wondering how they would be able to fit all of them back together after the last one basically had captain Jack Sparrow sailing off into the blue with a new crew and wil and his lady fair settling together. Looks like they might have another hit here. At the very least it looks cool.
*squeal*
Can'twaitcantwaitcantwait
The first was soo friggin' awesome. I hope this one has the wordplay of the original. :D
Interesting. I get the first shot here.
A very entertaining movie. All the cast perform admirably (especially the wonderful Bill Nighy as Davy Jones). The effects are absolutely jaw-dropping.
Having said that though, I failed to understand the plot. There is a cabbage-scene of sorts but given it's jack Sparrow mumbling and bumbling about in his usual way it was hard to understand it all. Also I was convinced Will's father was played by Geoffrey Rush throughout the film (which, of course he wasn't- this was another wonderful performance by Stella Skangard (sp?)).
Some great action sequences, peppered with some amusing comic turns, make for a great 2 and a half hours of entertainment. As one critic in Australia said- "It's based on a disney ride, and that's all it is, a ride and not much else".
Keith Richards plays Sparrow's dad in the third film, which I've read is already finished filming. Of course, that's not very surprising since both sequels were filmed back to back. I'm gonna watch the first film again this weekend and so see this sequel Monday. RottenTomatoes already has a ton of reviews for it.
Excellent special effects, great cast, but I never got the feeling of suspense or drama because of the "peppered" humer makes it more of a comedy than an adventure movie. The plot was a bit of a stretch for my taste, as was the length of the movie, but still very entertaining.
Sorry, spelling police: should be humor not humer.
Dead Man's Chest unseats Spiderman
$132 million. Yeesh. And I wasn't even a part of that.
Funny movie, but I must be the minority, as I didn't think it was as good as the original.
Avast, ye mangy dogs! Spoilers there be!
The film opens with Elizabeth sitting in the rain "at the altar". Sheets of music can be seen on music stands to her left. The ink on the sheets is slowly running with the rainwater. Given that there was no way to easily copy anything in those days, I doubt musicians would leave their sheet music in the rain. The coposer of the piece would have a vested interest in preserving his work. Or their music stands, for that matter. In fact, why is Elizabeth sitting in the rain? Did no one walk her indoors when Will failed to show up?
Jack shoots a bird off the top of the coffin that he's using to float to sea. He then extends the gun and his hand out the hole, almost like a periscope. Unless he had a second gun in the coffin, the gun he's holding was empty- there's no way he could have reloaded that fast.
How did the soldiers put Elizabeth in the cell? The dog that carried the jail keys was on the rowboat with the sailor with the wooden eye- and he still had the keys!
Just how did the tribesmen hang those cages over that gorge? What were they hanging from?
More to come...
Episode V: The Pirates Strike Back...
Oh wait, wrong film. However, the similarities were there--one character betrays another, leaving him in the hands of the enemy, film ends with main characters planning on rescuing the captured character.
It was epic and entertaining, but a touch too "big" at times and occasionally lacking the qualities that made the first film entertaining. The first film took a ho-hum plot and entergized it with Johnny Depp's character (try and imagine Pirates without Jack Sparrow). The second movie sort of does the same thing, but it tries to top itself too much and with Jack already played out his bag of tricks, he isn't quite as entertaining.
There was too much of a deja vu element: once again, there's a curse plaguing Jack. Once again, Jack sets up Will to fall in the hands of the enemy. Once again, there's an undead sea army. All series have an element of repetition, but it felt a little overdone here. I was hoping for a completely different adventure--that Will and Elizabeth would run into Jack in a different seting. I prefer the idea of Jack as a man of mystery who just swoops in and swoops out, as opposed to the immense amount of backstory he is getting (his introduction here in the coffin, though, is great).
It was neat seeing how many people were brought back from the original. I knew the big three, I expected a few others, but the guy with the parrot? The midget? The two idiot pirates? Kudos. That did make the no-shows a tad more conspicuous: the pirate girl and the two idiot soldiers.
It was a fairly bloodthirsty film what with throat-slittings, birds pecking out eyes, and almost three whole crews ruthlessly eaten by a sea monster. Yikes. Think before taking the kids.
I'm hoping the villains get more development next sequel. Tom Hollander. Good actor. Not much of a bad guy. He needs to have a Big Bad Plan, or at least more Sadiistic Moments (I would have preferred a more bombastic actor in this part, like Michael Gambon). His goon could be expanded on more too (perhaps a name?).
Davy Jones is well played and is loathsome, but he too needs a little more development.
The action sequences were fairly entertaining, although the four/five way fight for the chest got a touch overstuffed (noticing a theme here?).
Of the returnees, Norrington got a little more bite and got to do more besides look stiff and angry. Knightley certainly got a meatier role and I confess I didn't see the final plot twist coming. Bloom still suffers from an incredibly uninteresting role, making the movie come to a halt whenever he takes center stage.
Jack shoots a bird off the top of the coffin that he's using to float to sea. He then extends the gun and his hand out the hole, almost like a periscope. Unless he had a second gun in the coffin, the gun he's holding was empty- there's no way he could have reloaded that fast.
I thought it was a double-barrelled pistol? And when he got onboard the Pearl he tried to shoot the monkey with the other barrel, only to have it misfire?
That did make the no-shows a tad more conspicuous: the pirate girl and the two idiot soldiers.
Were the two soldiers standing behind Governor Swann(flanking a double door) in one of the governor-and-East India Company guy scenes? I couldn't tell if they were supposed to be the same pair, but they looked kinda similar.
Jack's argument for not killing Davy Jones was that the Kraken would still be after him. Based on how Jones must use his crew to summon/detach the Kraken for each attack, killing Jones would do fine. Of course, Jack may not know exactly how Jones controls the Kraken.
When Jack is paddling away from the Pearl in the ship's boat, the Kraken attacks the Pearl. Since the Kraken was (I thought) targetting him, it should have gone after the boat he was actually in. (Of course, Jones may have hastily given the Kraken instructions to hunt down the Pearl when he most recently unleashed it---suggesting again that though the Kraken had targetted Jack once it need not always do so.)
I found it rather odd that the (apparently deserted) island where Jones hid his chest had a quite large, stone European church (and largish cemetery). Building such a structure (which also included a water wheel) would seem to suggest a substantial investment of resources and a good-sized local population at some point. And a fair bit of time. Yet the church had been abandoned (with even the bell left behind) and there was no sign of an associated village or monastery. In the perhaps two hundred years since European settlement of the Carribean, I suppose that there was time for a village to be founded, be lost (perhaps to plague), and for all the structures but the largest stone structure to be reclaimed by the jungle---but it was odd.
When Will crept up to Jones to steal the key to the chest, depressing one of the keys to Jones's organ caused it to sound a note. I assume that Jones does not have an electric blower. Ergo, there must be someone (a calcant) who was pumping the air into the reservoir. Either the calcant continued to pump even after Jones had fallen fast asleep at the organ, or the (17th century?) reservoir was so well constructed that it trapped enough wind for the organ to sound perhaps hours after the calcant left off pumping.
Why is Elizabeth being held in the dungeon? Back in that time, people of high social standing were held in fairly nice digs when they were arrested. Now I might buy her being kept in the dungeon if she was the prisoner of a nation hostile to Britain, but certainly not her own government.
Garrison, I wondered about Jack being reluctant to kill Jones as well, and thought perhaps that, being Jack Sparrow, there were ulterior motives too. It's hard to take anything Jack says at face value.
Perhaps Elizabeth is in the Dungeon merely based on Beckett's spite?
Sorry, spelling police: should be humor not humer.
Or, internationally, humour.
I thought it was a double-barrelled pistol?
It was.
I thought this film was complete rubbish, it felt like it would never end, I even (foolishly) waited for the 'hilarious' scene after the credits (sorry for wasting your time, cinema cleaners). It'll be interesting to see if part three has such a big opening weekend based on this drivel.
There's no way the water wheel could get to the beach at the same time as Elizabeth. It should have beaten her easily.
Ugh. I just got home from watching this flick. It was WAY too long, way lacking in a clear and understandable plot, and while I knew that it was made back-to-back with the third film, and that the ending would lead into the third (I was reading Jerry Bruckheimer's Playboy interview today, in which he stated that the majority of Pirates 3 is done), I couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment at the end when it was to be continued, Barbosa or not. This movie needed a script rewrite and a major edit. The montage in the beginning of Will going from place to place looking for Jack, for example, could've been cut.
Why can nobody seem to understand this plot or piece it cohesively together? It seems everyone I talk to feels the same way! It's very simle:
Becket comes, going after Sparrow through will and Elizabeth. Sparrow meanwhile has to repay his debt to Davy Jones when the Kraken is sicked on him. He runs and hides and Will comes to find him- then to resolve their mutual problem, they decide to seek out Jones. Jack tricks Will (as usual,) then goes about trying to get out of his bargain via the 100 souls. They all end up fighting over the Chest for various reasons as Jones closes in, intent on collecting his debt. Simple.
It occurrs to me that there are three potential plot hooks for Pirates 3 in this movie:
1. Why Jack couldn't make up his mind
2. What exactly it was that he stole from Tia Dalma
3. Why Jones and Tia Dalma both seem to have a pendant with the same shape- Jones' being his locket, of course. (Could Dalma be the woman he loved?)
Other than that, only one nit noticed: What happened to the bar in the water wheel that knocks Jack out? It doesn't seem to ever trouble him again...
On the whole, I think this was the best movie of the year, maybe the past couple- fun, UNDERSTANDABLE ;-), clever, exciting, and of course, containing the best surprise ending ever comitted to film. I was okay with the length, the plot, the humor, and the action- and especially the score. In other words, I really thought it was excellent.
And why I seem to be alone in that opinion, I will never comprehend. (Though I do agree with Luigi about the montage.)
It's "simple" when it's described in writing as you did. As filmed, with dialogue and all, it was not as easy for me to follow. I have no idea who Tia Dalma is, for example, nor did I catch anything about pendants.
As for the debt, what did Jones give to Jack in the first place? It was indicated that Jack got (13?) years commanding a ship, but how did Jones give him that? Does Jones have an employment agency, or something?
What was the thing that Jack had to pay him back with again? Was it his crew, or was it the 100 souls? Or was the 100 souls an alternate payment they came up with, or something?
If Norrington had the heart, why give it to Becket? Why not use it himself to control the seas? And how does one use it if one has it?
Tia Dalma, (admittedly, I didn't catch her name either, I read it) mentioned by name only once or twice, is the Voodoo priestess. And it appeared, in one breif shot, that she had a pendant very simillar in design to Jones' locket.
Jones (or was it Bootstrap at the beginning?) says what Jones' part was: He raised the Pearl from the depths where it was sunken and gave it to Jack, who was to have 13 years to captain in and then trade his soul in return. The 100 souls was something that Jack clearly negotiated as an alternative to his own soul. (He sent Will over and had him say 'I'm here to settle Jack Sparrow's debt,' I.E. offer his soul instead, though Will didn't realize this. Then, when Sparrow tried to claim that Will's soul was a fair replacement, Jones said "Not all souls are alike." "Ah!" Jack replied. "So we have established that my plan works in theory and are now just haggling over price. How many souls would you say mine is worth?" That's not verbaitim, but you get the idea. Jones says "100 souls," and Sparrow even tries to negotiate Will off the hook, to no avail.)
Just out of curiosity, were you fully awake when watching this movie? ("Sorry, mate... I couldn't resist...") ;-)
Presumeably, either Norrington had no vision, or was more interested in his own freedom than controling the seas.
And while the use of the heart is never made clear, presumeably, since stabbing it will kill him, one essentially threatens his heart and in doing so, threatens his person- then coerces him to do the heart-owners bidding. (Though I wonder if it will somehow be re-integrated in 3, especially if Tia Dalma turns out to be the woman he loved.)
As for the debt, what did Jones give to Jack in the first place? It was indicated that Jack got (13?) years commanding a ship, but how did Jones give him that? Does Jones have an employment agency, or something?
I thought that Jones gave Jack the Black Pearl, which had sunk (or perhaps had a more supernatural origin).
What was the thing that Jack had to pay him back with again? Was it his crew, or was it the 100 souls? Or was the 100 souls an alternate payment they came up with, or something?
I understood that Jack had traded one hundred years on Jones's crew (at least, that was Jones's standard deal) for the Pearl, but for some reason Jones was willing to trade one hundred other new recruits for Jack's service.
If Norrington had the heart, why give it to Becket? Why not use it himself to control the seas? And how does one use it if one has it?
Because Norrigton doesn't want power; he wants his life back. And presumably whoever hold's Jones's heart can kill him at will, so Jones (to avoid death) will do what the bearer wishes. Why Jones cares whether he lives or dies is not clear.
Actually, TWS, I think that Jack, like Bootstrap in the dice game, had bargained his entire soul- a.k.a. an eternity, in return for raising the sunken Pearl. I think the 100 years is an offer made to the dying sailors, but an eternity is the price Jones demands for the big tasks. But I only got this impression the second time around, so I could be wrong.
I just can't resist this one...
I was reading Jerry Bruckheimer's Playboy interview today... - Luigi Novi
Soooo... you read Playboy for the articles, do you, Luigi? ;)
Yes, I do.
And Zarm, thank you for the clarification. (And yes, I did remain quite awake throughout, and never once left the auditorium during the movie.)
Response Comments
This movie requires several viewings to catch things. In my mind, pirates 2 and 3 are to be taken as one story, not two. As such, I'm assuming (and hoping) more clarification regarding all the back story they're giving will be provided in movie 3.
I don't think the movie was too long, but I did think it took a while to get started. (into the meat of the davy jones plot) The whole cannibal island thing seemed to drag to me.
However, in the writer's defense, I think it was the best they could come up with to get Jack back out to sea. Just prior, they indicated that Jack basically isn't safe at sea. Thus they had him land on land, but the movie would be kind of boring if it all took place on land, thus they created this island which necessitated him needing to return to sea.
Regarding the island, I think Jack chose that island because he knew the natives (and their language). In Pirates 1, Jack says to the two red coats "...and they made me their chief." I assume that that refers to these islanders. The burning Jack to release him ideology probably wasn't known to Jack during his first visit thus, when he returned he was caught off guard. As Beckett clearly indicated, the world was shrinking and the unknown corners of the map were being filled in. Thus, Jack was limited to where he could land the ship as civilization and the East India Trading Company were everywhere.
Speaking of the EIT, Jack notices that the EIT’s effects have even reached the cannibals on the island, which is why he did that double take and grabbed the paprika.
Norrington probably also gave the heart to Beckett because he needed to have the letter of mark approved. Controlling the ocean still wouldn't help Norrington if he's still sentenced to die.
Regarding the floating coffin, how did Jack even get in it? Yes, he could have slipped inside, but its got to be nailed shut and air tight. Who nailed it shut and why didn't they notice Jack? It's gonna weigh much more than the other coffins. Also Jack should have suffocated in it.
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Luigisms
After Turner broke out of Jail, they made sure that the jail cell doors would be rusted shut.
The bars in the jail cell that holds Lizzy Swann looked to be very, very corroded compared to the cell that housed Jack. Was Norrinton the only reason things were kept in good condition?
Elizabeth has been taking lessons from the women in Tortuga.
When Jack says persuade me. I’m under the impression that Elizabeth flashed her breasts to him. Am I understanding that scenario properly, because the dialogue doesn’t quite make it clear?
Boy, William Turner wasn’t kidding when he said he could do this all day…
On the broken ship after Turner ignites his sword, he’s knocked unconscious and falls to the ground. Amazingly, he still manages to maintain an effective grip on his flaming sword.
The time is World War 0, and the machine cannon decimated the battle field.
While visually interesting, the 3-barrel Gatling Cannon doesn’t make much since. If they're all connected anyway, what difference would it make to have it rotate?
Next on American Gladiator, Cage Rolling!!
The rolling of the cage bit seemed to become tiresome; not to mention that it should have broken in two about 2 dozen times with all the bouncing it did (not to mention rolling up the trees). Also, it looks to me as if some of the people could have squeezed through the openings in that bone cage.
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Thoughts
I’m curious to know what will become of the dog in the 3rd movie. We know it’ll make an appearance. At least I assume it will as the after the credits clip involving the monkey is kind of important in understanding the bits involving the undead monkey.
I’m curious to see what becomes of the Lizzy Swann-Jack Sparrow kiss. Near the end, Will Turner sees this and no doubt is confused, possibly feeling cheated on…
ANTI-NIT
Regarding pumping air for the organ, well, they are on a moving ship and there could be some mechanism that uses the ocean flowing past the ship to activate the pump.
More NITS
when the sailor puts on Sparrow's hat, one of its pointy ends is directed over his right eye, but after the Kraken comes and bumps their ship, its symmetric with one of the pointy ends directly behind like the first sailor. (right before he takes it off)
The wine rack seems to be a little strange for a ship which would be rolling back and forth in the ocean.
Also, Jack asks if this is a dream, and when Bill Turner says its not, Jack responds with thought not, or there would be rum. Then Bill gives Jack some rum. So is this movie just a dream? 
NANJAO
The ending where the maw of the Kraken is shown reminds me of the Watcher in the Water from LOTR and the Sarlacc (ROTJ original version)
I'm surprised why nobody's thought to ask what the hell Barbossa is doing there at the end. At last report, he was rather dead. I know it'll probably be addressed in 3 but it's irritating just the same. Unless your name is Daniel Jackson, if you die you should stay that way.
He was dead up until the end of the movie. When Tia Dalma goes looking for "land" in the other room (to give to Jack), you can see barabossa's feet. You'll also notice the monkey hopping around his deceased owner... though I'm not sure if the monkey considers Barbossa an owner.
The more I watch it the more I appreciate this movie. I didn't care for it much the first time, and I still think the cannibal island scene could be shorter, but much of it is quite necessary to work into the third.
The Kraken seems to be not much more than a giant squid, and it's mouth looks to be in the same place as a squid as well. In that case, how does it lift itself up to the railing of The Pearl without causing it to tip over, or even list? The bulk of it's weight is near it's mouth, and it's a semi-normal living creature as shown in the next movie, so there's no way it could come out of the water like that.
It was even worse in At World's End but in this movie cannons and muskets were re-loaded incredibly fast, in fact I don't recall any re-loading at all. The triple cannons were already mentioned, which didn't make much sense to me either, but the Flying Dutchman was especially bad about (too)quick reloads. I realize the ship and it's crew were not among the living but how do they keep the gun powder dry, light it, and use cannons encrusted with barnicles and whatnot?
I think this was asked in the next movie's board(s) but what was Jack supposed to do with that jar of dirt? It may have only protected him from Jones, but not anybody else.
I don't know what actual protection the jar of dirt was meant to offer; to me, it seemed to be something similar to how a hug or a kiss will make a child's injury go away. That is, it doesn't actually protect him, but somehow offers him the emotional assistance he needs.
This film was recently released on Netflix (again?), so since I watched the fifth edition of the franchise not long ago I thought I'd give it another viewing.
The film is just as fun, if not more so, than I remember it! I'm not sure, but I don't believe I've re-watched this one after seeing the third. Having said that, there's still a couple things I don't quite get:
Zarm: It occurrs to me that there are three potential plot hooks for Pirates 3 in this movie:
1. Why Jack couldn't make up his mind
2. What exactly it was that he stole from Tia Dalma
It's been a while since I saw the third, but was what Jack couldn't make up his mind about ever answered? Also, I don't believe Jack stole anything from Tia Dalma, except maybe her freedom? If he's taken something from her, why would she help him in this and the next film?
TWS: Why Jones cares whether he lives or dies is not clear
I still don't quite understand that either. Jones protecting the key and hiding the heart is one thing, but at this point, death should be a welcome relief than the afterlife he suffers.
If any of you liked this series but have yet to see Dead Men Tell No Tales I recommend catching it. It's not the best of the series, but it's better than the last two installments IMHO!
This film was recently released on Netflix (again?)
It's also available on streaming Showtime Anytime (which is free with a Showtime subscription, for non-cord cutters like me) until April 28.