Reviews

This movie did exactly what it was supposed to do - to boost the Star Trek franchise and attract new fans. The movie feels fresh with good story telling, a new set, and the new cast. Good acting is not always found in this genre.

I'm old enough to watch entire the Next Generation w/o missing an episode during its first run. But admit it, the science and logic of the Star Trek series are not exactly, well, logical. The format of talkative, lecture laden with not always fresh messages, doesn't translate well to the big screen nowadays. The fact is that the entertainment industry is profit first. A franchise needs to attract a brand new generation of fans to stay alive and flourish. The movie did just that.

After all, isn't being open-minded an important message from Star Trek?

********Spoilers Warning******* Is it worth the wait? Yes for me, and if nothing else, just for seeing Depp reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. It was a raucous, fun ride as I expected. The CGI is incredible. It's action packed. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann mature a little bit this time around. And good ol' Jack, one of the most loved pirates in movie history, is as sleazy and funny as ever and always scheming up something. However, this time he's also slightly out of his elements, and not quite sure what he wants. Maybe in the 3rd movie, we will get to know why. Devy Jones might be just the most impressive villain coming out of the movies in the last few years. The ending, with Jack returning to his fearless self and walking into the mouth of Kraken and the return of Barbossa, is absolutely jaw dropping.

That said, I walked out of the theater feeling entertained but slightly disappointed. There are too many actions and not enough Jack Sparrow, too many plots and not enough building up of the characters. The film makers are so eager to make sure that this is going to the biggest and the most spectacular ride in Summer and that there will be plenty left for the 3rd installment, they forgot the success of the first POTC is mostly due to unusual and vastly intriguing character(s). Take away Jack Sparrow and there's not much left to watch (OK, there's still Barbossa). Here not only that we have only bits and pieces of Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth suddenly becomes attracted to Jack, Bootstrap Bill came back from nowhere, and seemly dozens of new characters show up with very little background and introduction. They all seem to be lost in the non-stop actions and a very complicated plot.

Hopefully everything will fall into place in the final movie. I will definitely see the movie the 1st open weekend. And Disney better not ruins it for me the magic and the enjoyment that came with the 1st one.

Thanks to other reviewers on IMDb. I picked up this pleasant surprise. The opening musical had me worried a little. But soon the clever plot revealed itself. This movie is witty and funny, several steps above a lot of Hollywood movies in the same genre today. It still looks incredibly fresh today.

The flashback is so seamlessly inserted that I watched the movie again just to find out exactly where it begins. There are moments that make you smile or laugh out loud: the movie-in-movie poking fun at the genre, the mentioning of LeLouch's another film – "un home et une femme", the kidnapping plot, the little details about the characters,etc. LeLouch's direction is fluid and stylish. The naturalistic acting is great and spot-on from the top down. I didn't know that Trintignant could be funny!!! In this movie, he is charismatic, charming, and ruthless all at once and never once goes over the top or shows any movie star self-awareness we usually see today.

This is a fantastic movie that can be watched again and again.