I just realized something else related to how complex this one's story is: the wait time between this and the previous movie if you hadn't rewatched that before going out to see this one! That must have just been crazy. This movie has its own mess of plotlines to keep track of, but that's not even considering everything that had been set up before and still needs to be followed!
I didn't start seeing these at the theater until the next movie, so I had an advantage watching them while they were all out and being able to set my own pace of when to continue. The first time I watched them there wasn't a super long amount of time between, but there was some, so I was able to get the gist of what was going on but had trouble following all the specifics. The second time, knowing now how intricately connected they were, I watched DMC and this on back to back nights so everything was as fresh as possible and that's when the details cleared up.
This and DMC are one long movie, really. Each needs the other. I wonder if that was a part of why this one wasn't overly well received when it first premiered, because a lot of people had only seen the last movie at the theater and then went to this a year later not remembering important details and were caught really unprepared for what this movie is.
Tis a Trilogy Mateys!
That's a good point. I was a big fan by the time the second one came out and followed stuff enough to know that the second and third ones would be closely connected. I was watching for clues and little things that might connect with the third one, and then by the time that one was in theatres, I was ready to fill in the blanks in the story. On the other hand, I remember seeing an interview with the two main writers (Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) saying that some reviewers couldn't even tell the difference between Norrington and Beckett. If you're mixing up main characters because they wear wigs and have accents, the review probably isn't going to be that favourable. 
Not to say that there weren't any flaws, but to me that fits with bookworm's comment. This film may have been a better fit for fans who made an effort to be knowledgeable and make connections than as a generic big budget action adventure.
Not to say that there weren't any flaws, but to me that fits with bookworm's comment. This film may have been a better fit for fans who made an effort to be knowledgeable and make connections than as a generic big budget action adventure.
Yeah, and ever since this one the series moved in the direction of each new movie having some running references and connections to the bigger story if you get them, but being able to stand alone fine if you don't.
