I saw PoTC 2 in the first week it was out and had a madcap adventure to see it at a midnight showing and I was just so happy and geeky over this movie, and then life sort of interrupted, and I just never did jot down my thoughts about it. I need to see it again, to see if the distance of time and some boring analytical thoughts will tone down my affection for this installment of the series - because as much as I omg!squeed over it, it was a flawed chapter, and needed some editing and cleaning up, but I was very happy about the characterization for most of the characters. I'm glad I'm not very into the fandom so I haven't been around to see any Elizabeth bashing, as she is one of my favorites (the other one is Will, who gets either no notice or is only a pawn in the Must Slash At All Costs Sweepstakes with Captain Jack) and I think among the many threads running rampant in PotC 2, her story does overtake the Will reconnecting with his father/evolving into the noble sea merchant guise and Jack's change of heart about the sea and his place in it. I also agree that Elizabeth's thread runs parallel to Norrington's, but whereas Elizabeth has been protected (to a point) by her status in life, Norrington has been failed by the system that created his in the first place, and most of his tragedy happens off screen before we see him in his new, scabbier state.

There is just so much ground to cover for the third movie, besides what they're going to do with the betrayals, and non-dead Barbossa, and if Will will free Bootstrap from the curse and if there is going to be a horizon for him and Elizabeth, and of course Davy Jones and Beckett - that I worry that they're going to spend a little too much time on the slapstick repetition and not enough on actual plot.

But I've been pleasantly surprised by these movies and am hoping for more surprises in the third.

And I have more thoughts, but I have to see the movie again and go to sleep now, so...um, yes.