Dead Man's Chest: Not Half Bad!

[Helm]

"I liked the first, so I'll probably go see this too" attitude.

Isn't this so, though? Aren't people getting all worked up every time a new 'Monkey Island sequel' comes out or a Broken Sword game that they know will not be as good, instead of pushing for new ideas that don't necessarily make for sequel-aplenty franchises?

[Redwall]

Anyone else notice Norrington looks exactly like Guybrush in MI2?

The beginning is slow, Barbossa's reveal is terrible, and it's not even close to being as clever as the first, but it's a decent movie. Gotta love Bill Nighy.

[fred]

Isn't this so, though? Aren't people getting all worked up every time a new 'Monkey Island sequel' comes out or a Broken Sword game that they know will not be as good, instead of pushing for new ideas that don't necessarily make for sequel-aplenty franchises?

I think you're right. It's the publishers' job to get as much IP in the game or movie as they can, as many top-search and/or buzz words. It just makes the marketing part easier. And it's the game designer's job to make it original despite of thisÃ,  Ã, ::)Ã,  - A fact that will sometimes make me visit www.manifestogames.com to have a pleasant backdrop for my fits of denial.

In a way, brands make sense, I mean I'm pretty sure I get quality when I buy, say a new Sid Meier's "something"- game, problem is when only the IP survives to the sequel, and none of the creators and none of Ã, the original atmosphere - not that I've really experienced this with the Sid Meier brand so far.

Seems some people forget/don't care that what makes stuff fun or interesting isn't the stuff itself, isolated from eveything else, but the fact that it's... well, new to its context. Ron Gilbert mentioned this, sort of, in the recently posted podcast here, when he said comedy is hard because it's all about timing. Publishing certainly is as well.Ã,  Perhaps making people think back and "remember" the prequel is just another way of mastering timing.

[BerserkerTails]

I thiknk the third one will be better, just because as I was watching it, I realised how much I missed Barbossa. Then he came back at the end, haha.

My complaint is that it just didn't flow as well as the first one. It felt very stilted, with many "little" scenes, and not enough character development. The only character I thought that actually evolved a bit from the first one was Elizabeth (Keira), who became more piratey.

I did like the fact that my favourite characters, the two "idiot" pirates (Gareth from the Office and the other one) and Captain Norrington (The guy from Coupling) were both in it more. But I found that the overall feel of the film just wasn't as magical as the first. Though I do admit, the wheel scene was well done.

It all boils down to this: I saw the first movie twice in the theatres and bought it the day it came out on DVD. The second one, I'll probably wait until it goes on the "Previously Viewed" shelf at Blockbuster before I buy it.

[Cluey]

MI was inspired by the ride, but I don't think there was a voodoo lady in the ride.

Apparently according to Ron Gilbert, MI is strongly based on the book, On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, can't say I've read it though.

I want to go see POTC 2, but its just a matter of when I can be bothered to stop trying to get a decent score on SSB Sandbag Batting and leave the house.

[Scummbuddy]

On Stranger Tides was an amazing read and I wholly impose on you all to read it. Especially you, Edmundo...

[GarageGothic]

Anyone else notice Norrington looks exactly like Guybrush in MI2?

Funny, I thought the same thing about Will Turner. And what's up with the coffins as rowboats and voodoo ladies in swamps? Someone in the screenplay department has surely played MI2. I really hope the third movie will feature more of that creepy prison place that Jack Sparrow escapes from in the beginning of the movie - it looked amazing (and reminded me quite a bit of Simon the Sorcerer 2).

[mysterybowler]

Did anyone else think that the scene where the two guys on the ship that find Jack's hat was more than a little similar to the scene in MI3 where the two guys on the ship find LeChuck's boots? 

[SmootH]

You're right it wasn't half bad - it was all bad! (Nah, I'm pulling your leg it was only 3/4 bad, i was just channeling some of "Waldorf and Statler" on that one)

No one like a hearing lecture, but sequels, in film, are mostly bad. There are a handful of great ones like The Godfather part 2, Terminator 2, Empire Strikes Back, Mighty Ducks 2, but generally they suck.

Why does this Pirates 2 stink, let me count the ways:

Pacing: First off, it's too damn long. A length is great, when the story is strong, see Berlin Alexanderplatz, but when the story is sketchy, you start to feel the time weighing down on you. It was fast then slow then stopped then fast then stopped. It needed some build up and something to build towards.

Storytelling: In a story as linear as this, the surprise ending is pretty much given away near the beginning, to those who've watched the first one and were paying attention.  There was a whole lot of content in this movie that goes unexplained and with 2 and 1/2 hours to work with they could have done something about that. Yes, I understand it's for suspence but there's a difference from suspence and  poor storytelling.

Deus Ex Machina: I'm not a fan of this device. It makes whatever it touches seem like a build up to nothing. Lots of the people that were in the theatre with me did the whole "ooohhh, aaaahhh" thing when the ending came up. I wasn't surprised, this is the sort of thing Disney pulls often

Spoiler

(Tell me, when was the last time in a Disney movie did a main character die and stay dead, Bambi's mom doesn't count.)

[close]

Acting: The reason why the above sequels are good is that the characters that we know and love get more developped, they become more human and therefore more relatable. In this movie the characters are exactly the same like nothing happened in the last movie.  There are exceptions as always: Bootstrap Bill has grown up a bit among others in the secondary cast. If I wanted the same gags, the same people - the same everything, I'll pop in my dvd of the first one and re-watch it.

Having said all that, The movie does have some good points, the special effects are pretty nice looking, the action is fast paced, though the fight scenes do run a little long, the comedy is mostly okay, the film is decent but not clever and I was hoping for alot more.

[MillsJROSS]

the film is decent but not clever and I was hoping for alot more.

And therein lies your problem. Expectations cloud our judgement about whether or not a movie will be good or not. You came with high hopes, and not everything met your criteria. I'd argue you won't really know how you feel about the movie till you see it much later, when there isn't so much hype, and you know what to expect. I agree with most of your assertions, but I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the first, so I enjoyed it more.

And if you want to complain about length of movies, look at Superman Returns. I've never been so bored in my life.

-MillsJROSS

[deadsuperhero]

To be honest, I absolutely loved it.
Why?
1. Jack is still his goofy ass self
Honestly, he stole the show over and over again with his utter randomness ("Look," BANG, "An undead monkey.")
And I especially loved the way he broke out of the prison. You just sit there wondering "Why the hell are we looking at a coffin?" the bird starts pecking at it, you think "Oh, that's kind of screwed up." and then you hear a bang and Jack breaks open the coffin. The morbid humor was great.
2. Good Fight Scenes
The fight scenes WERE a little overdone, but they were still very amusing (especially the waterwheel)
3. Plot Twists
There were quite a few of these, but I liked how they played out. The only thing I felt was out of place was the woman, but hey, it's their movie, not mine.

4. Scare Factor
Well, it wasn't really scary, but the cannibals freaked me out the way they jumped out and grabbed Will Turner, the flat wussy.

5. The Cliffhanger

Spoiler

Actually, I'm happy to see Barbosa back, and it'll be very interesting to see him team up with the crew of the Black Pearl, but his return was just an utter shok (but a perfec tplace to end the second movie.

[close]

Besides which, for a second movie, it was very good. Lots of second movies suck. The third one will be better, I hope. But hey, I had fun. 

[Barbarian]

The "Ask a Ninja" guy does a review of this movie... rather funny:

http://www.askaninja.com/tags/pirates

   After watching a few of his video clips, this "Ninja" guy sort of grows on ya after a while (in a "it's so silly it's funny" kinda way) . 

[deadsuperhero]

The "Ask a Ninja" guy does a review of this movie... rather funny:

http://www.askaninja.com/tags/pirates

   After watching a few of his video clips, this "Ninja" guy sort of grows on ya after a while (in a "it's so silly it's funny" kinda way) . 

I really got into "Ask a Ninja" a few months ago, just about every episode has made me laugh.

[Redwall]

And I especially loved the way he broke out of the prison. You just sit there wondering "Why the hell are we looking at a coffin?" the bird starts pecking at it, you think "Oh, that's kind of screwed up." and then you hear a bang and Jack breaks open the coffin. The morbid humor was great.

I thought it was very obvious what was about to happen?

The "An undead monkey!" bit was good though. As was "I happen to have no dress in my cabin..."

[Nine Toes]

I went and saw it today.  It was long, but I loved it.

I thought the first scene with the kraken attacking the trader ship was awesome, kinda terrifying.  Especially with the pipe organ music in the background.

The pirates in Davy Jones' crew were cool, too.  I loved the character designs.  I think I might actually pay to see a spin-off about Davy Jones and his crew.

But, yeah.  My major gripe was that I have to wait to find out how Sparrow is going to settle his debt with Davy Jones.  When I heard it was going to be a trilogy, I thought it was going to be 3 separate movies.  Instead, they decided to try and turn it into this huge pirate epic (a-la LOTR, and Star Wars).  At least when I saw the first movie, I was content with the ending.

[Chicky]

Ace movie, very piratey. Loved it, made me pee.

[BerserkerTails]

And if you want to complain about length of movies, look at Superman Returns. I've never been so bored in my life.

-MillsJROSS

See, I absolutely loved Superman Returns. I didn't think it was too long at all. Pirates 2, however was a bit too long in my opinion. It all depends on whether the movie can interest you right away. I remember coming out of the theatre and turning to my girlfriend who had the same look on her face as me. It was a kinda "I liked Pirates 2, so why do I kinda feel like I wasted my time?". We both agreed later on that evening that Superman was better.

[Pet Terry]

It was the awesome.

[LGM]

The pacing in Superman was too perfect. It was so well done the movie seemed to short. I wanted MORE!

I have yet to see Pirates, but I am getting excited. Screw the critics, I form opinions all by myself. Right?

[Nacho]

I want to see it because I liked the first movie. I LOVED it, actually... It would surprise me a lot if I don't like this part two, maybe not that much as first part (The scene where Jack arrives Port Royale is IMO the best scene ever...) but I am sure I' ll enjoy this.

Now I must ask... What happen to you guys? Most of you loved part 1... Why was it supperb and part 2 simply sucks? Is it that after seeing POTC in blockbuster it is "dirty" or something? Is it now an "example of prostitution of the 7th art to the capitalism" or what? Maybe it is... But with that rule of 3, part one was another example as well... 

I don't really understant why this fashion of criticising something simply because you "percieve it's cool to do it..." Man, the other day I was at the queue of Superman and I was hearing a guys comment "Yes, it's going to be a crap!" (Man... If you thing it's going to be crap, what are you doing here???)

I am not really criticising people who has seen it, says "I preffered part one" or "The pace was not supperb, I would have cut 20 minutes" That's ok... I also was disspointed with "the phantom menace" and Matrix II and III. What really disturb me is that that there is people who is criticising without seeing it... Hyposcrisy sucks. Not directly to anyone of the forums members... just thinking aloud.