Pirates Are A Good Bet to Lift Summer Box Office Doldrums

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2006)

As a theatre owner, I have the distinct privilege of viewing advance trade screenings. Last week, I attended the PotC2 screening in Seattle. To say I am excited about the premiere of this movie would be an understatement. I think it will be THE movie of the summer, and may well break records.
PotC2 doesn't exactly pick up right where the first left off, but close enough. Will and Elizabeth's nuptials are rudely interrupted by arrest. Then Will is sent off to find one Jack Sparrow, and his compass, in order to free Elizabeth from jail. Elizabeth, never one to sit around and wait for someone to rescue her, manages to escape herself, and goes after him.
The next 2 hours and 20 minutes is full of plot twists, re-introductions of familiar characters and introductions of a few new ones. Oh. And a few (okay, a lot) great CGI special effects that just seem to get more seamless and impressive with each movie. Once the principles are together (more or less) the fun really begins, and the barbs are slung with the same fervor as swords are swung. Somehow managing to worm his way darn near into an equal starring role in this movie is the oh-so-proper Commodore Norrington, who is not quite so proper anymore. This character's fleshing out is arguably the best subplot in the show, and Jack Davenport's obvious delight in giving us a good look at Norrington's ugly side is a hoot.
The first Pirates was a bit of a surprise hit, because, I think, it took an old (some would even say used up) idea, and made it new again. Depp's unexpectedly weird and yet somehow vulnerable turn as Captain Jack Sparrow caught the attention of a broad slate of the movie-going public, and this one continues that idea in spades. Yes, the first hour seems overly long, and jumps around so much that anyone who has NOT seen the first one will be hopelessly confused by it. This is mostly because the first half of this movie sets up the events that follow in both the last half of this movie and the larger general storyline of the third. The last hour of this show more than makes up for the complicated first half. Go to the bathroom before it starts, because you will not want to get up and leave once the fun really kicks in. You might also miss crucial plot points.
The last 10 minutes of the movie give us (and poor Will, too) so much to contemplate over the next 10 months or so it's almost painful, but while the cliffhanger ending might frustrate some, I thought it was very fitting to leave the audience hanging much the same way the old serials did. It would have been much less pleasant if we didn't know the third installment was pretty much in the can already and poised to release in May 2007. Be ready to hear the audience erupt in cheers during the last 30 seconds. Then sit there through the credits thinking to yourself, "but I want to see the third one RIGHT NOW!" Then watch the little after-the-credits vignette and leave the theatre still thinking to yourself "but I want to see the third one RIGHT NOW!" As the summer blockbuster season this year has been lackadaisical at best, I suspect that most everyone is waiting for this movie. I don't think they are going to be disappointed.