Plot & Characterization Problems

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2006)

The first Pirates was an excellent movie, and I was SO ready to love this film. Truly, they had an easy audience with me, as I was set to enjoy the film, no matter what. I simply couldn't imagine myself disliking it - and, on the whole, I didn't. It is a good movie and definitely worth seeing. However, I've got to sadly admit that I was a bit disappointed with the film. Really, the only problem with it was the storyline. The acting, the visuals, everything else was great, but the story was problematic. I understand that being the middle part of a trilogy automatically makes it a "bridge" film, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't have stood on its own. However, as they have written it, it is simply all a lead-in to the third film. Additionally, the story keeps moving from point A to B to C to D, and on and on, without any build-up or time to contemplate what's just happened - in other words, it's a bit confusing. I could, and would, readily forgive all that, but the major problem was, as another reviewer put it, the characters (and by that I, basically, mean Jack and Elizabeth) we knew from the first film aren't always present in the sequel. It's a much darker film, with Jack constantly betraying everyone, and I won't even make an attempt at explaining Elizabeth's behavior in this film that is so at odds with everything her character thought, felt, and displayed in the first Pirates. With that said, it was, nevertheless, a good film. It just doesn't live up to the original. However, I am hoping for redemption of characters and a return to the feeling of the first film in Pirates 3.