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Wow. I have SO MUCH LOVE for the movie AS a movie, in terms of the fun and spectacle and excitement. I love the way they make adventure cliches come to life, the effects, the play, Pintel and Ragetti, the ships; all of that was wonderful. Basically the first half up until Jack betrays Will had me overjoyed and thrilled in every way, and I was mesmerized through the whole thing.
Character-wise? I'm left distressed and unhappy. I loved Will and his development, except for denying that Jack was a friend. But of course he was right. The Jack Sparrow that lived in my head after the first movie WAS Will's friend. This Jack Sparrow? Definitely wasn't.
I know a lot of people will have loved the character twists, and I get that they have perfectly valid takes on the characters. Elizabeth really didn't surprise me, except that she acted more like I read her in the first movie than I would have predicted Disney would ever make her. Jack Sparrow, though, did surprise me. I took him as a good person who lived outside the law, not someone who would send the best man he knows to 100 years of miserable slavery to save himself. In the first film, he seems to be betraying Will, but he doesn't; he actually has a plan. He's full of flaws, but he can be trusted. Not so in this one, and honestly I liked him more for the good heart I saw under the swashbuckler than for all the pretty and the flash. Now I can't really care so much.
Norrington's arc is very interesting, and I'm intrigued by the direction he is taking. I'm very sad for him, though, and he is more bitter than I could wish for him.
It's always possible new information in the third movie will bring a shift in the way I'm reading them, but for now, my two favorite ships seem kind of... shipwrecked. Jack/Will is hard in light of Sparrow's infamous treachery, and Elizabeth/Norrington seems increasingly unlikely. Sparrington would still work for me, but generally the darker versions, not my favorite ones. Jack/Elizabeth REALLY doesn't work for me now, as I'm having a hard time actually liking either of them anymore. I always did want for Elizabeth to strike out on her own and become a pirate. I wish I could still like her enough to be happy she may do that.
But Will/James? I was lukewarm on it after PotC I; now I think I could get behind it.
Overall, I loved it, and I hated it. This may change. I'll probably see it again, try to keep an open mind, and I really, really wish we could see PotC III RIGHT NOW.
ETA: I don't think I really stressed enough how much I loved Will Turner in this. He has lost his youthful inflexibility, without giving up his devotion to those he cares about or his honorable nature. I was not particularly attracted to him in the first film on a sexual level, beauty notwithstanding. I liked him for his character. In PotC II? Smoking hot. He is generous when crossed in matters of the heart, he is courageous against fantastic odds, confident with reason, and sweetly vulnerable to love. And he's funny. Man's going to have to go pirate now, but he'll be an honor to the name. I love him for his goodness, and respect him for ditching the legalism that made it annoying in the younger Will. Nice work by Orlando.
Character-wise? I'm left distressed and unhappy. I loved Will and his development, except for denying that Jack was a friend. But of course he was right. The Jack Sparrow that lived in my head after the first movie WAS Will's friend. This Jack Sparrow? Definitely wasn't.
I know a lot of people will have loved the character twists, and I get that they have perfectly valid takes on the characters. Elizabeth really didn't surprise me, except that she acted more like I read her in the first movie than I would have predicted Disney would ever make her. Jack Sparrow, though, did surprise me. I took him as a good person who lived outside the law, not someone who would send the best man he knows to 100 years of miserable slavery to save himself. In the first film, he seems to be betraying Will, but he doesn't; he actually has a plan. He's full of flaws, but he can be trusted. Not so in this one, and honestly I liked him more for the good heart I saw under the swashbuckler than for all the pretty and the flash. Now I can't really care so much.
Norrington's arc is very interesting, and I'm intrigued by the direction he is taking. I'm very sad for him, though, and he is more bitter than I could wish for him.
It's always possible new information in the third movie will bring a shift in the way I'm reading them, but for now, my two favorite ships seem kind of... shipwrecked. Jack/Will is hard in light of Sparrow's infamous treachery, and Elizabeth/Norrington seems increasingly unlikely. Sparrington would still work for me, but generally the darker versions, not my favorite ones. Jack/Elizabeth REALLY doesn't work for me now, as I'm having a hard time actually liking either of them anymore. I always did want for Elizabeth to strike out on her own and become a pirate. I wish I could still like her enough to be happy she may do that.
But Will/James? I was lukewarm on it after PotC I; now I think I could get behind it.
Overall, I loved it, and I hated it. This may change. I'll probably see it again, try to keep an open mind, and I really, really wish we could see PotC III RIGHT NOW.
ETA: I don't think I really stressed enough how much I loved Will Turner in this. He has lost his youthful inflexibility, without giving up his devotion to those he cares about or his honorable nature. I was not particularly attracted to him in the first film on a sexual level, beauty notwithstanding. I liked him for his character. In PotC II? Smoking hot. He is generous when crossed in matters of the heart, he is courageous against fantastic odds, confident with reason, and sweetly vulnerable to love. And he's funny. Man's going to have to go pirate now, but he'll be an honor to the name. I love him for his goodness, and respect him for ditching the legalism that made it annoying in the younger Will. Nice work by Orlando.
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