I Won't Call It 'Epic,' But That Word Is On The Tip Of My Tongue

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2007)

There is some criticism out there that this film is slightly too long, that some scenes are a little bit too different (and drawn out), and that the plot line can be too involving sometimes. These are all true, and it is commonly the case when a director has a billion dollar grossing film under his belt which then allows him or her more creative freedom from their commercially minded producers and studios (remember PJs King Kong?). We all know when watching it that there will be that great action sequence at the end, and it is great, yes, but the potentially confusing, backstabbing and treacherous plot line preceding it, in my mind could have been toned down a notch so more epic-like action could be fitted in earlier on in the film as well as at the end.
However, with all this in mind, the film still manages, somehow, to keep your attention for its nearly 3 hour entirety. And its a keen, engrossed and excited attention that it gets from its audience, too. One of its greatest appeals is its unique and appealing style which we are rarely given the pleasure to witness. The style arises out of that largely unexplored area somewhere between 'artsy' films, fantasy films, commercial films and of course, comedies. You can't help but think that in 20 years time, people will watch this again for the first time since when they were kids and revere in the nostalgia (and finally get the story line), like we did with Indiana Jones and Star Wars amongst others.
It will be very interesting to see if this film, with its Luke warm reception from critics and its massive momentum from 'Pirates 2', will beat out the Spidey to regain its opening weekend records, and whether it can carry through to earn more than 'Pirates 2's $1 billion Worldwide BO taking. If it does, I think we'll be seeing wicked Jack a couple more times.