Summer of '06 has turned out very good for cinephiles

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2006)

I had a great time with X3, Da Vinci Code, A Scanner Darkly, and Click so far this summer but just when I thought there would be a drought in the middle of summer, along comes Pirates which makes a splash into cinemas and bring forth a tidal wave of...
Okay, enough with the puns. This movie was great, plain and simple. Even better than the original, in my opinion. And I didn't even like the original that much, I just saw it for Johnny Depp and Keira Knightly (yow!). But this time, there's a lot more to see than good ol' Johnny and Keira.
Yup, a lot more.
First off, the story pacing is a lot slower and steady. Something I loved very much. We explore the changes in character with Elizabeth, Will, and Jack even more (with two new recruits as the comic reliefs), with bits of comedy and incredible action here and there. While I thought the Skeleton Barbossa from the original was okay, the new one (the squid-like Davy Jones) actually felt pretty intimidating and incredibly 'wow' to look at. The same goes for the rest of the crew, the makeup effects are incredibly top notch.
The movie takes its time in telling the story, letting you soak into the characters and beautiful scenery. Gore and his team have a good eye, through realistic landscapes, makeup, and even with CGI (which is rare nowdays for people who heavily abuse CG).
The music seems a little better too, Hans Zimmer seems to carry the soundtrack on with more of an epic beat this time (and doesn't let it drag like it did in the original). The Pirates' theme sounds a lot more "adventerous" this time, the new beat really helps enhance the movie even further than I could've imagined.
The action was one of the things that surprised me the most. They somehow managed to top themselves every time a major action scene comes up. The over the top sword fights, the ship battles, the bar fight...every single one of them was great and better than the last.
Not a whole lot more to say that's not spoilerific other than...you have to see this movie! NOW!!