Friday, January 5, 2007

Yo Ho Ho

I can't quite remember why, but the topic of Pirates of the Caribbean came up recently with my family. It was either my little brother or sister who asked: "Was Pirates II actually a good movie?"

I don't really have any idea. I've only seen it once, and that was at the theater. After a fresh viewing of The Incredibles on the TV for the first time, I am particularly sensitive to the dangers inherent in a special effects based movie. Action sequences do not a movie make.* To get back on topic, after that one viewing, I came away very much liking Pirates II, though I thought it could stand to trim half an hour or so.

I'm afraid of two things. First, I was initially positive about the first Pirates. That is, until I realized that it was a boring, repetitive movie with Orlando Bloom in it that just happened to have Johnny Depp deliver one of the great performances of our time. Second, the ending was so damn good (I'm talking about Barbossa's appearance here), that I wonder if it biased me towards the rest of the film.

Pirates III comes out this summer, I'm told. Since I'm not all that attached to the series, the wait is of no matter. Still, I'd hate for Pirates II to be a repeat of The Matrix: Reloaded--promise the world and then forget about that tiny thing called a true conclusion.

*I don't want anyone to think that I don't like The Incredibles. I just found that the first hour was a lot slower than I remembered, primarily because the cool action shots weren't quite as mesmerizing at 27".

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