Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

On Friday I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and I thought I would give my 2 cents about it. First off, let me start by saying that I didn't think the 1st movie necessarily called for a sequel. It was one of those movies that stood fine by itself and there was no real segue to a potential 2nd movie that seemed urgent. I guess its unexpected success was cause enough.

Well, I have to be honest. I enjoyed this one more than the first. Of course this one does not stand on its own - without a good memory of the plot and cast of the first one, the second one's impact would not be significant. The way the screenwriters incorporated the cast into this story was quite interesting and gave this installment a more epic feel similar to the effect the Two Towers had in expanding the realm of Middle earth in the Lord of the Rings.

I did not read any reviews of this movie before seeing it - which is a good way to view any movie you are interested in. I had no pre-conceptions or 3rd party influences, leaving me to enjoy the movie for the roller-coaster ride that it is. After I saw the movie I was surprised how split the critics were about it when I did check out the reviews. It only got a 53% (rotten) on Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics seem to be a little too full of themselves to enjoy what is essentially just a fun summer movie. I mean what do you expect from a pirate movie? A deep meaningful journey of the soul? That's why critics are what they are and aren't film makers - if they were the world would be bored to tears. I was dually shocked when I heard some callers on the Ron & Fez Show bashing it. I guess you can't please everyone, but a huge number of people seemed willing enough to plunk down some cash this past weekend to check it out - $132 million for the weekend with $55 million on Friday alone. I guess we'll have to wait until next weekend to see if it has any legs.

What I liked about the movie was the way it flowed. It was full of action and plot twists that made the 2 hours fly by. It was also over-the-top like the first movie, but didn't leave you thinking you are watching a kids fantasy movie. It was often violent and dark, as well as funny. The actors do a great job, especially Depp's almost cartoon-like creation of the character of Jack Sparrow. You get the feeling that he really loves this character and puts his all into it. Its no wonder he got a nod from the academy for the 1st Pirates movie. The critics that claim he adds nothing new to the character are just stupid. If he changed the simple character traits at all, it would be a dishonest representation of him. Jack Sparrow does not need to be anything more than the self-serving pirate (with a hint of good nature) that he is. A real joy comes early on when the crew is willing to face certain death just to retrieve jack's hat from the water. The way Jack handles the situation is all the character development you could wish for in a pirate. His disregard for his prized possession to evade something that scares the shit out of him is symbolic of his nature to put that what he treasures most in harm's way to protect himself - a theme that is revisited and tested at the film's climax.

There have been very few movies I have been excited about lately - and I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this movie. i was pleasantly surprised and can't wait for number 3 next summer.

On a side note - I saw Superman recently as well and I was not as happy. It was OK, but there was an overall whitewashed feel to it. Kevin Spacey was a great Lex Luther though.