A great middle chapter

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2007)

First: the movie  It truly is just the first half of one long movie, so I hesitate to "rank" it in comparison to the first one, as many have done, until I see the last half (part 3). Depp is as great as ever, Bloom and Knightley hold their own as well as last time, and the supporting cast is excellent. I loved Jack Davenport in this film, with a new take on Norrington, and Naomie Harris brings an intriguing new character to life in Tia Dalma. I found the late-movie 3-way swordfight to be probably my favorite part, mill wheel and all. If there was anything in this film I liked least, it was definitely Davy Jones and his whole gang. I think the whole "absorbing" sea life and such is just pretty pointless and goofy, and made for some dumb looking characters and bad CGI (though most of the FX in the flick were seamless and amazing). I know Jones was kind of the main point of the film and the primary villain, but I would've liked him better if he were just a regular pirate, sans octopus head and crab claw. This didn't ruin the movie for me or anything, but was easily my least favorite part (on my third viewing, I even went and watched another movie for about a half hour when Jones' group showed up). I personally can't wait to see where the third one goes. There are more than a few comparisons to be made to the original Star Wars films and even Raiders of the Lost Ark, but those have been more than sufficiently documented elsewhere. I'll just say I have no problem with them, as this trilogy is shaping up to be plenty worthy of a place alongside those.
I don't quite understand some of the criticism people have toward the film. The most frequent are the length and open ending. Lord of the Rings, anyone? Those films were decidedly longer than this one, and had just as open an ending, if not even more incomplete. And as far as running time, I don't think there's any magical maximum that films have to adhere to. If you can't sit still for a longer film, maybe you should wait for DVD where you can break it up. I have also heard people complain that the characters, especially Captain Jack, have become jerks, or as one friend put it "They spent the entire movie turning everyone into giant a-holes." I don't see that at all. There are plenty of conflicts even between the heroes, and alliances and loyalties are constantly shifting, but such is to be expected in a PIRATE movie. Everyone is out for their own agenda, and if those goals line up with someone else's, they'll cooperate for the moment.