Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest (Reviews, etc.)

[MickeyMousePal]

It's hard to say who will beat POTC: DMC record either POTC: AWE or Spiderman 3....

[Loomis]

I don't seem to be participating in the General Discussion forum much lately, so I'll repost my review from the Off Topic Screening Log Thread:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006 - USA): The BIG Disney film of the year has arrived, and what can be said except: WOOHOO! Call me an easy sell, but I thought this film was top-notch. Yes it was too long; yes the CGI was overdone and yes it was a retread of the first film. Does that really matter? Hell no. It was something that very few films manage to be these days - it was FUN. If you allow yourself to just roll with it, it is one of the best rides you'll go on for a while. Speaking of rides, I really appreciated the references to the Disneyland attraction throughout - the mayor dunking in the well; the dog and the keys - and I also think that those swinging cages could be the next Disneyland attraction! (Or is that already DCA's 'Sun Wheel'? ). Most fun I've had in months, and I can't wait until The World's End. Rating: A -

Good to see that it has done well. It deserves every piece of eight that it gets. Arr!

[kbehm29]

I saw this movie yesterday afternoon, in a sold-out theatre. It's the first movie I've ever been to where they actually had ushers moving people around to maximize every seat. One of my biggest pet-peeves is people who show up for a movie at the last minute. If you're going to spend the money, do it right. I hate not being able to concentrate on the previews because there are people changing places all around me! And don't even get me started on staying through the credits. We were the only ones left for the last scene.

Anyway - LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED it, even more than the original! What movie were the critics watching? Do they put on negativity glasses before they see it, or what? I brought two of my kids with me, 8 and 9 - and they both had trouble sitting still through it - but still payed attention fairly well (LOL - my eight year old explained some parts of it that I didn't quite get!). I'm seeing it again in two weeks, and don't know how I'm going to wait that long. My whole day yesterday revolved around pirates - we watched COTBP before we left, and again after we got back!

I thought Superman was good, but this one blows it out of the water. The action scenes were tremendous! I didn't know what was going to come next....but every scene topped each other, IMO.

Please - don't read the critics reviews and go see this movie for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

From the first 3 days: $132,000,000

[BrandonH]

I guess I'm the wet blanket in the crowd this time.

Dead Man's Chest was entertaining, but the script and story needed some more work. They put almost all of the humor into the island and Tortuga scenes, so the movie felt unbalanced in that area. I like cliffhanger endings as much as the next person, but there were too many things unresolved for my taste. The Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future Part II, X2: X-Men United, and The Matrix Reloaded all felt like complete experiences, even though they had some loose ends.

On the technical side, some of the dialogue was hard to understand, even with a great sound system. Several times, I found myself wishing for the DVD's subtitle option. This wouldn't be so bad, but most of the trouble came from the voodoo woman, who has a lot of important exposition.

On the positive side, I loved the visual effects from ILM and others. Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, and Bootstrap Bill were all great characters. The island scenes were truly hilarious, and the three-way showdown at the end was amazing.

I'd give Dead Man's Chest 3 out of 5 stars. It entertains, but it does not live up to the hype and opening weekend it got.

[kbehm29]

On the technical side, some of the dialogue was hard to understand, even with a great sound system. Several times, I found myself wishing for the DVD's subtitle option. This wouldn't be so bad, but most of the trouble came from the voodoo woman, who has a lot of important exposition.

Her accent was legitimate. My boyfriend is from the caribbean, and I have a hard time understanding him (though not so much anymore)...and I don't think movies should "American-ize" accents just to appease people. I think it would have taken something away from the movie had her dialect been anything other than what it was.

[BrandonH]

I'm not saying they should have changed her accent, but if important plot information is unintelligble to a significant fraction of the audience, then there is a problem. Making the dialogue louder in the sound mix and giving more reaction lines to the pirates are possible fixes.

[Pluto Region1]

I'm not saying they should have changed her accent, but if important plot information is unintelligble to a significant fraction of the audience, then there is a problem. Making the dialogue louder in the sound mix and giving more reaction lines to the pirates are possible fixes.

I had the same problem as Brandon - couldn't understand her - (One more good reason to go see it a second time!) and if you don't understand what she is saying, unfortunately, you will miss a good portion of the plot. But the 2nd time I saw the film, I listened very intently and was able to understand I'd say 99% of what she was saying. Putting subtitles under her dialog would ruin the film so I think Brandon's ideas here would have been a good solution. Most people will not see the film a 2nd time so they will leave the theater not having understood critical elements of the film. Otherwise, I adored her and her accent.

[brownie]

I guess I'm the wet blanket in the crowd this time.

Dead Man's Chest was entertaining, but the script and story needed some more work.

I completely agree.

[Elladorine]

Gonna have to see this one again, enjoyed it just as much as the first, maybe even more so. I keep wondering why people say it repeats the plot of the first film. Anyway, that ending just about killed me!!!

Spoiler: I couldn't believe Elizabeth turned on Jack like that!
Perhaps I'm just a bit slanted because of my strange obsession with Jack, but yeah. . . can't wait for part three. Bring it on.

[crunkcourt]

I saw POTC: DMC last Saturday night and had an amazing time. I enjoyed this one more than the first. While the person that I saw it with thought it was overall a great movie, she had a problem with the first half. She thought it was boring, and didn't contribute to the plot. Frankly I don't really agree with her. I think my favorite part was the ending and the set up for the third film in the series. Filming both of them around the same time was an excellant idea and will strengthen both films in the long run. Not to mention box office numbers are probably going to grow even more for the third. I'm starting to countdown to May 25, 2007. Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me.

[Edge]

Saw it last Friday and really enjoyed it.

Saw it again last night and enjoyed it even more.

I'll be the first admit the begining was a little slow and the humor to start felt a little forced at times, but once the movie got going I was really into it.

Def. a darker film, left me wanting to see the third movie but I think they went a good direction with it. Like the first it could have been shorter, but I'll be the first to admit I had a harder time sitting through the LOTR (movies which I love BTW).

The movie wasn't perfect, but neither was the first one. It was designed to be entertaining without taking itself too seriously (ala Indiana Jones) and it did that wonderfully.

Anyone expecting a life altering experience that will change their view on the world are expecting the wrong things from Pirates and that is where the critics become critics.

It's ironic that many of the most memorable films in history were not critics darlings, in addition many never won best picture or best actor. That's about all you need to know about critics opinions. If you can't do anything creative for a living, become a critic. Nothing better than rating someone else's creativity.

Like the first one, the critics gave the movie a B-minus. In addition, just like the first movie, movie-goers gave Pirates a B+. The thing is some people are going to get it and some won't. Critics create a catch-22 where doing something original often meets with puzzles stares but continuing a story means your copying. What direction did people think the movies were going to go? Does every character suddenly act differently and do the pirates suddenly discover some beautiful power locked away inside that allows them to understand the nicer side of life? The audience doesn't want that and it's not what the story was about.

Some people were REALLY confused by the movie and I just don't get it. It's about as straight forward of a plot as you can get. Everyone wants something and they'll do what they must to get it. By the way people were talking, I expected some kind of jumbled mess. But at the end of the day, just like the first, most people got it. And that's all that matters.

All in all I loved the movie. Watching it a second time allowed me to appreciate it more and catch a few jokes I missed the first time. I think the story could've been a little short and picked up a little faster so I'll take a few points off. I'd give it an A-Minus.

[Pluto Region1]

It's ironic that many of the most memorable films in history were not critics darlings, in addition many never won best picture or best actor. That's about all you need to know about critics opinions.

Perfectly said!

My husband said there was a poll on (I think?) Entertainment Tonight last night about POTC and the negative reviews. They were showing a clip of POTC and asked people if they would see the movie despite bad reviews - the poll results suggested 61% would see the movie despite negative reviews.

[Edge]

What kills me is that some of the reviews just seem negative for the sake of being negative.

I can understand saying "well it could lose a few minutes" or "it takes a little while to get going" but some people would have you think that the movie had no direction and was just people running around on a boat for 3 hours.

It makes it hard because movies aren't cheap and some of these critics seem to be off in their own little world, now more than ever.

[lord-of-sith]

What kills me is that some of the reviews just seem negative for the sake of being negative.

I can understand saying "well it could lose a few minutes" or "it takes a little while to get going" but some people would have you think that the movie had no direction and was just people running around on a boat for 3 hours.

It makes it hard because movies aren't cheap and some of these critics seem to be off in their own little world, now more than ever.

I know! I've heard some pretty odd things against this movie. Apparently, critics don't like it because:

*It ends on a cliffhanger (and yet they think The Empire Strikes Back is the best SW film)
*Johnny Depp plays Jack the same way (Uh, same character!)
*It was too long (only 5-10 mins longer than the first one. But they loved King Kong and RotK)

So, in short, critics are just bashing this film just for the sake of bashing something.

[MadonnasManOne]

I still haven't seen this, but, next week I am going, for sure. I'm tempted to go by myself, but, several of my friends keep telling me to wait, and go with them, next week.

At any rate, I have read three reviews where the reviewer actually states that they didn't see the first film, but, can only imagine it was better than POTC 2: Dead Man's Chest. Then, they go on to say that this film lacks focus. Come on! First of all, how can anyone, not having seen the first film, judge this film? Of course they would be a little lost. I'm not saying that POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl is brain science, but, I would think you would have to have a point of reference. I don't understand how someone can be a critic of this film, without seeing the first!

[Elladorine]

At any rate, I have read three reviews where the reviewer actually states that they didn't see the first film, but, can only imagine it was better than POTC 2: Dead Man's Chest. Then, they go on to say that this film lacks focus. Come on! First of all, how can anyone, not having seen the first film, judge this film? Of course they would be a little lost. I'm not saying that POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl is brain science, but, I would think you would have to have a point of reference. I don't understand how someone can be a critic of this film, without seeing the first!

Woah. . . I don't get that either. With every single person I've told about the movie I'm also telling them to make sure they've already seen the first (or that they even need to watch again if it's been a while) since they're going to be a bit lost otherwise. Characters and certain situations were already well established and developed in the first film and are carried on through the next. . . makes me wonder if anyone's gonna watch the third movie on its own and complain that it lacks focus too.

And as for critics, I think a lot of them take themselves too seriously and have a hard time accepting a film that doesn't. This film's not out to change the world, but it's a heck of a lot of fun.

[banjoboy]

I've been eagerly following this thread in anticipation of the Swedish opening, which is today (July 12). So, at two minutes past midnight this morning, I sat down in an almost full movie house - the biggest in my town - to see it, AND ... Well, it's pretty great, isn't it? A definite part 2 of a trilogy, with some obvious parallels to The Empire Strikes Back, and as such it serves its purpose more than adequately. I found it funnier than the first one ("An undead monkey - Top that!", the fruit salad scene), perhaps a little less focused, but definitely bigger, and admirably doing its job of broadening the scope of the story and deepening the characters. I'm pretty sure that when we, in twenty years time, look back on the Pirates trilogy - by then a classic and a milestone in movie entertainment - we'll find that a lot of its soul was actually established in this movie. Well, that's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

[dvdjunkie]

I don't know if I posted this, but at our theaters in Wichita, they are now shorts (cartoons) before the feature film in all of their theaters, and the shorts sort of match the film.

For "Cars" we had "Susie, the Little Blue Coupe" and "Mickey's Trailer", and for "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest" we are getting a very funny Chip and Dale Cartoon.

It just makes the movie going that much more pleasureable. For other movies they are showing Warner Bros. cartoons, but for all Disney features they are showing Disney shorts.

[MickeyMousePal]

I went to the AMC Theatres and they didn't show those short cartoons from Walt Disney but they do show trailers of Spider-Man 3, Snakes on Plane, Transformers, Invinible and some other movies.