Bloody pirates.

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 2006)

I went into this film at midnight tonight expecting a nice ride. The original was, without doubt, brilliant film-work. The CG was smooth, the plot was enough to keep you entertained, the characters (for the most part) had interesting relationships. Then there was Johnny Depp and the soundtrack of pure gold.
So I walked into the cinema tonight with the expectation of another nice swashbuckling film with slightly less allure than the first. Having seen the commercials, I was afraid for what they might have done with the plot..maybe they tied it in too much with the first film, which is a horrid trend in Hollywood of late.
But I'm sure by now you've seen that I rated the movie as a 10, not a 7 or an 8. It was by no means just another wild ride of enjoyable debauchery, this was a work of art.
I went in expecting at best the same quality as the first film, and by far my expectations were crushed under the blue waves. It was still wryly funny, even during parts of intense action. Placing a swordfight in a spinning waterwheel, for instance. Or leaving a dog on an island of cannibals.
The plot thickened deliciously, with enough reference to the original movie to keep a place as a sequel, but enough free plot to stand easily alone as an incredible film. The acting only improved, as it's obvious everyone has become more comfortable with their respective character. Depp again steals the show, but not by such a large margin as last time.
To be honest, I caught most of the plot threads at the beginning and thought I had everything figured out...up until the moment when Elizabeth chained Jack to the Pearl and left him to die. I didn't see a good deal of things coming, and that's tough for a script to do. Yet somehow, every thread is tied up smoothly by the end of the film. None of them are finished, mind you, and there's a great deal more story to be told (so much that I would hope they split this into a 4-part series, rather than fall victim to the wretched tendency of an ungodly trilogy ending with the third film so clogged with resolutions and philosophies that the basic momentum of the series is lost entirely.)
Moments of immense surprise that make sense in retrospect. That is what makes a good plot, a good book, a good movie. Dead Man's Chest might have seemed to give a good chunk of plot away in the previews, but it left every little gem for those brave enough to place themselves at the mercy of the thunderous ocean beneath the sails of the Black Pearl. Pirates 2 is, by the shot of a long nine, the best movie so far this year.
I wouldn't recommend you go into this film with an air of expectation. Rather, sit into your theater chair comfortably, let your mind follow as it will, and enjoy the ride. Try not to blink, and as any good pirate...hide the rum.
-C