Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was an over rated film by many people who went into the theater pre-determined to love it. Now don’t get me wrong… I actually enjoyed the movie, enough to see it twice as a matter of fact… but in all reality it wasn’t all THAT good. Fun? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. But so are many films, and to me, the first Pirates film by FAR out classed the second.
Having said all that, the category for best visual effects at the Oscars this year should be an absolute no brainer. John Knoll (That’s him in the picture with me) and his team at Industrial Light + Magic pulled off one of the most remarkable jobs in VFX history with Pirates 2.
And yes… I’ll say it. I’ll say the one thing a lot of people will shit on me for… but I stand by this. Davy Jones FAR surpassed Gollum as a CGI character. Now I know what many of you are saying “But John, Davy Jones wan’t a CGI character”. While it’s true that the CGI in Pirates was BUILT ON TOP of the actor instead of REPLACING the actor as they did with Gollum, the former is actually more difficult to pull off, and the end results were mind blowing! (see the images below).
I really don’t see how much can stand in the way of a VFX Oscar will for Pirates 2. Superman Returns was a great flick… but it’s effects don’t compare. X-3 had some solid VFX, but not in the same league.
However, there are 2 films yet to come out that MIGHT pose a threat depending on how they turn out. Charlotte’s Web and Eragon have potential… but I just don’t see how anything is going to stop John Knoll from grabbing the gold on Oscar night.
DAVY JONES (Actor Bill Nighy) BEFORE THE VFX:
AND AFTER THE VFX:
Case closed.
