jetfx
11th Jul 06, 11:35 AM
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy
Release Date: July 7th, 2006
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Director: Gore Verbinski
Main Actor/Actress: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley
Supporting Roles: Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Nighy
IMDB Link: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (http://imdb.com/title/tt0383574/)
****************************************
Overall: 80/100
Concept/Plot: 3 / 5
Cinematography: 4 / 5
Acting: 4 / 5
Music:4 / 5
Running time: 150 minutes
Review
The first Pirates of the Caribbean made quite a splash when it was released in 2003, most notably because of Johnny Depps astounding acting as Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack's off-the-wall character instantly earned him a legion of fans, meaning there needed to be a sequel to cash in on what was originally a Disney thempark ride. Well early previews suggested that the film couldn't fail as long as Depp was on his game and he was on his game, but the film is not good just because Depp is.
The film begins almost as soon as the first film left off, just as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are about to get married. Well this marriage is rudely interrupted, and Will Turner must go find Captain Jack Sparrow and retrieve his compass or he and Elizabeth will face the hangman's noose. Of course things quickly become a lot more complicated than just finding Jack, turns out Jack owes his soul to Davy Jones. Knowing Jack, he's going to try his damnedest to weasel his way out of this without actually paying his debt.
Well, the plot is ridiculous, but it fits in very well with the style of movie that Pirates is. The story has a lot of twists and turns in order to bring all the old characters back, and along the way tends to get convoluted. Frankly I disliked the premise about Jack's soul and Davy Jones, it could have been better, but as individual episodes the plot could be really good. The episode on the island full of cannibals particularly stands out in my mind. The plot however seemed a bit of a rehash of the first film, except larger and with more spectacle. Basically, one of the main characters has something that the bad guy wants (due to some sort of curse), followed by a long and funny adventure to solve everything. Except this film doesn't solve the problem, it's a cliffhanger! In fact the ending makes no sense considering the events of the first film. It doesn't seem possible, and if the third film clears this up, it's still a year away.
Now where this film excels is the script. It's very well written, with plenty of witty lines and exchanges to lighten the mood. It's very often just laugh out loud funny. The lines just seem so natural for Captain Jack, with his certain slur on top adding to the effect. Now the action provides a natural punctuation to the script. Once again, like the plot, the action is overdone and often ridiculous, but again, the action fits well into the film, making a surreal backdrop for the script's wit.
The characters are basically the same as we left them in the first film, except a few exhibit some development throughout the film, particularly Captain Jack. Jack, knowing his ass is on the line is certainly quick to act on his interests, friends be damned, detracting from his lovable rogue appeal that was introduced in the first film, but through the course of the film, he begins to exhibit more of a sense of right and wrong. Elizabeth and Norrington develop a little bit (but only a little bit) and Will Turner stays basically the same one-dimensional character we saw in the first film. But really, the film is about Captain Jack.
Now the acting, needless to say, Johnny Depp's role is one of the reasons I wanted to see the film and his acting does not disappoint. Captain Jack is still the same character, but Depp brings some more depth to what could just become a gimmicky character as the series progresses. The other roles were solidly acted, but it's always the more ridiculous characters that had the better acting. Orlando Bloom is okay, but he never seems to have much presence on screen, which means his character has a tendency to disappear in plain sight.
Now the cinematography was really good, blending CGI and real locales near seamlessly. They made good use of the setting to produce lush and exotic scenes and the camera is always willing to pan out to give you a bigger view of the action. The score was really good, and particularly rousing when they are sailing around.
Now overall the film was a bit long, sometimes slow and incohesive as whole, but overall it made a favourable impression on me as funny and exciting with plenty of memorable episodes and lines.
Good Stuff: Excellent script, exciting story episodes and Johnny Depp.
Bad Stuff: Ridiculous plot overall, one dimensional
characters and a bit long.
Release Date: July 7th, 2006
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Director: Gore Verbinski
Main Actor/Actress: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley
Supporting Roles: Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Nighy
IMDB Link: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (http://imdb.com/title/tt0383574/)
****************************************
Overall: 80/100
Concept/Plot: 3 / 5
Cinematography: 4 / 5
Acting: 4 / 5
Music:4 / 5
Running time: 150 minutes
Review
The first Pirates of the Caribbean made quite a splash when it was released in 2003, most notably because of Johnny Depps astounding acting as Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack's off-the-wall character instantly earned him a legion of fans, meaning there needed to be a sequel to cash in on what was originally a Disney thempark ride. Well early previews suggested that the film couldn't fail as long as Depp was on his game and he was on his game, but the film is not good just because Depp is.
The film begins almost as soon as the first film left off, just as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are about to get married. Well this marriage is rudely interrupted, and Will Turner must go find Captain Jack Sparrow and retrieve his compass or he and Elizabeth will face the hangman's noose. Of course things quickly become a lot more complicated than just finding Jack, turns out Jack owes his soul to Davy Jones. Knowing Jack, he's going to try his damnedest to weasel his way out of this without actually paying his debt.
Well, the plot is ridiculous, but it fits in very well with the style of movie that Pirates is. The story has a lot of twists and turns in order to bring all the old characters back, and along the way tends to get convoluted. Frankly I disliked the premise about Jack's soul and Davy Jones, it could have been better, but as individual episodes the plot could be really good. The episode on the island full of cannibals particularly stands out in my mind. The plot however seemed a bit of a rehash of the first film, except larger and with more spectacle. Basically, one of the main characters has something that the bad guy wants (due to some sort of curse), followed by a long and funny adventure to solve everything. Except this film doesn't solve the problem, it's a cliffhanger! In fact the ending makes no sense considering the events of the first film. It doesn't seem possible, and if the third film clears this up, it's still a year away.
Now where this film excels is the script. It's very well written, with plenty of witty lines and exchanges to lighten the mood. It's very often just laugh out loud funny. The lines just seem so natural for Captain Jack, with his certain slur on top adding to the effect. Now the action provides a natural punctuation to the script. Once again, like the plot, the action is overdone and often ridiculous, but again, the action fits well into the film, making a surreal backdrop for the script's wit.
The characters are basically the same as we left them in the first film, except a few exhibit some development throughout the film, particularly Captain Jack. Jack, knowing his ass is on the line is certainly quick to act on his interests, friends be damned, detracting from his lovable rogue appeal that was introduced in the first film, but through the course of the film, he begins to exhibit more of a sense of right and wrong. Elizabeth and Norrington develop a little bit (but only a little bit) and Will Turner stays basically the same one-dimensional character we saw in the first film. But really, the film is about Captain Jack.
Now the acting, needless to say, Johnny Depp's role is one of the reasons I wanted to see the film and his acting does not disappoint. Captain Jack is still the same character, but Depp brings some more depth to what could just become a gimmicky character as the series progresses. The other roles were solidly acted, but it's always the more ridiculous characters that had the better acting. Orlando Bloom is okay, but he never seems to have much presence on screen, which means his character has a tendency to disappear in plain sight.
Now the cinematography was really good, blending CGI and real locales near seamlessly. They made good use of the setting to produce lush and exotic scenes and the camera is always willing to pan out to give you a bigger view of the action. The score was really good, and particularly rousing when they are sailing around.
Now overall the film was a bit long, sometimes slow and incohesive as whole, but overall it made a favourable impression on me as funny and exciting with plenty of memorable episodes and lines.
Good Stuff: Excellent script, exciting story episodes and Johnny Depp.
Bad Stuff: Ridiculous plot overall, one dimensional
characters and a bit long.