The second installment of the Pirates franchise clocks in just a few minutes longer than the first movie, but in some ways it seems quite a bit longer. Perhaps we've become used to Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, in the role he was born to play), or perhaps it just went on too long. One thing is sure, and that's that the visuals are superb.
From the opening sounds of the lonely pirate singing, you are whisked off to a world of adventure with Captain Jack. Unfortunately it gets a bit bogged down after that. There's an adventure on an island which, while fun, could probably be dropped in its entirety without affecting the rest of the movie one bit. The movie then drags for a while before another fun bit that goes on and on and on. And then it goes on some more.
While the fun of watching a three-way sword between Jack, Will (Orlando Bloom) and Norrington (Jack Davenport) fight atop a runway water wheel is interesting, it doesn't need to be as long as it is.
Watching Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and the skeletons/zombies is much more fun, and the whole thing could have stopped long before it did.
To recap: If you drop the island bit, then cut the wheel scene in half (or more), you've got a slim and trim movie, even should you decide to beef up some other parts. Alas, that didn't happen, and that's okay.
The movie is still enjoyable, and the makeup work and special effects done on Davy Jones, his crew (including a nice bit by Stellan Skarsgård as Will's father Bootstrap Bill) and Jones' ship are quite impressive.
But it was Geoffrey Rush's return at the end of the movie, setting the stage for part three, that really looks interesting. Special effects are nice and all, but I'll take a good story every time.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images, and this time around it is a much darker world that the pirates inhabit. Younger ones may be a bit intimidated by the sights of the place. Still, it's an enjoyable romp, if a longish one in the telling.
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