Better than Superman Returns? You bet!

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2006)

Now before everybody starts bombarding me with replies of disgust and disdain, please allow me to justify my heading.
First off, when I heard that Pirates was going to be 2 1/2 hours long, I simply groaned. After seeing Superman Returns, which was also of the same duration, I soon developed an aversion towards any Hollywood blockbuster that would dare to go that same length. This is not to say that SR was a bad movie (on the contrary), it simply FELT like 2 1/2 hours. The whole movie could've moved at smoother/faster pace. To my great surprise, Pirates was nothing like SR. For unlike SR, Pirates didn't FEEL like 2 1/2 hours. There was never a boring moment and every scene had a fresh spontaneity to it. Here is why I thought it was more enjoyable:
The story to SR was quite formulaic (the hero who does good, the love interest, the villain wanting some form of domination, yadda-yadda). Being such, we already know what the blueprint of the story is going to be. Every scene then begins to feel obligatory. The movie goes through the motion of conveying every clichéd scene that needs to be shown in order to tell the same story...and as a consequence, we have to sit through it and take in the motions. From the scene on the rooftop with Superman and Lois Lane (purpose: to re-assure the audience there is still an interest between the two), to the scene where Lex Luther almost kills Superman (purpose: to build up to the final climax of the movie). As a result, the movie starts to feel bogged down by these conventions, leaving a rather stale feeling. As well, the 2 1/2 hour duration really begins to sink in as we sit through every obligatory boring moment.
Pirates, on the other-hand, is not built on a conventional story. Everything is spontaneous, there are surprises left-right-and-center, and the actors are given enough freedom to do whatever they wish with their characters (not simply treat them as prescribed archetypes). As a result, there is never a boring moment! There were so many turns in the story that I actually found myself looking forward to what awaits in the next scene. And what comes next develops into more havoc and hilarity. There was something fresh about this experience that I found exhilarating, making the 2 1/2 hour fly by. As well, the roles were all so delicious and juicy that I found it an absolute treat to watch these actors have fun with them (from Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow to Bill Nighy's Davy Jones, and from the comedic duo Lee Arenberg & Mackenzie Crook (Pintel & Ragetti) to the surprise cameo in the end).
SR's flaw was that it over-reached: it tried to be an epic film. With that kind of goal and expectation it ended up relying too heavily on prescribed formulas, was too tightly latched onto its linear narrative, and gave us characters who seemed to take their roles and purpose too seriously (though my hats off to Kevin Spacey for giving Lex Luther a humorous edge). Pirates was the opposite. It was all fun from the get go, the narrative was loose enough to take some fun detours along the way, and it felt like the actors were all having one big party. This is what a summer movie is all about! Of course, this is simply my opinion. For a summer movie, I think Pirates 2 fulfilled my entertainment needs and left me eagerly anticipating for Pirates 3 (SR did not).