Wow, I must say wow. That was brilliant!!!! It surpassed my expectations, and I liked it more than the first one. Before I saw it, one part of me was really excited in anticipation, and the other half of me was worried that it would end up a huge dissapointment like the Matrix sequals, but it did not dissapoint. Johnny Depp is simply fantastic in his return as Jack Sparrow. He not only has more comedic moments, but he also shows more ranges of emotion. I was surprised by how good Orlando Bloom's performance was. He was good, but not too memorable in the last one, but in this one he really shows how much he has matured as an actor. Keira Knightly was as hot as ever as Elizabeth, and does more fun things as well. Jack Davenport gives his character alot more depth. Let my tell you, Davy Jones is one SCARY villain. The special effects and design of him and his crew is down right outstanding. If this movie does not win for best special effects at the oscars, I will become a cannible. Speaking of which, the cannible scene was really hilarious. I loved every minuite of it. The scenes with the Kraken were also horrific and scary and I loved it. Hans Zimmer also does a fantastic job with the score. He manages to keep some of the themes from the last movie while adding some really cool new themes like Davy Jones' and the Kraken's theme. The action, the stunts, the characters, the acting, the writing, the story, it was all perfect. I was worried that the cliff hanger would be something stupid like the one at the end of Matrix Reloaded, but I loved it. Its a perfect end to the movie while not leaving you there hanging.
Now, for the things I didn't like. One thing is that it didn't have enough ride references to my liking. The only real ones were the dog with the keys, scarlet the red head, the dunking mayor, and the firefly effects. There weren't as many phrases, and much to my astonishment, the song from the ride was nowhere to be found. I also kinda wished that there would've been a bigger sea battle between the pearl and the flying dutchman. But that's just me.
Overall Grade: A- A wonderful and worthy sequal to a great film, and by the looks of things, will be a huge box office success. By far the best film of the year, and will most likely stay that way.
So, let's talk oscar nominations. Here's the things I think it SHOULD be nominated for:
Best Actor Johnny Depp
Best Art Direction
Best costume design
Best musical score
Best cinematography
Best sound
Best sound editing
Best Special Effects