The Movie:

When Digital Playground hit serious pay dirt with Pirates a couple of years ago it sort of went without saying that there's be a sequel soon to follow. Well, the wait is over, and Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge is upon us. The first film was a fun, couples friendly feature with good production values, a nice mix of humor and adventure, and of course, some pretty sizzling sex scenes - can lightning strike twice? It would seem that way. Joone is once again in the director's seat and many of the cast members that helped to make the first film the success that it was are back in action this second time around.

Jesse Janes reprises her role as Jules, the pirate hunter with the big fake titties, who winds up involved in a war of sorts against a witch from the Far East known only as Xifung (Katsuni). What exactly is Xifung up to? She needs to find herself a mythical artifact that will enable her to resurrect Stagnetti from the dead so that the pair of them can go out and do all manner of evil pirate/witch stuff together. Jules will have to work alongside Captain Reynolds (Evan Stone) and a couple of saucy pirates wenches like Olivia (Belladonna) and Maria (Sasha Grey) to stop Xifung before it's too late...

The plot borrows from another famous pirate series a bit but it winds up to be just enough to keep things moving. The film is a fun and enjoyable romp with some inspired set pieces and cool ideas and a lot of great costume and set design work. Not all of the effects are up to par but the stunts and sword fighting are better than you'd probably expect, and then there's the sex...

Scene One - Shay Jordan, Mick Blue And James Deen: Shay, dressed in old fashioned traditional Chinese garb, kisses her two boy toys to get their attention. Once all three are ready, she blows Mick while James eats her out from behind. She blows James and then rides him reverse cowgirl style and then proceeds to spend the next few minutes going back and forth between the two cocks, one in her mouth and one in her pussy at any given time. She drops to her knees and sucks the boys to a finish, taking a big double load across her face and cleavage.

Scene Two - Riley Steele, Shawna Lenee And Ben English: Ben finds the two girls in the bedroom together and after some talk they start making out. He joins in and they suck him off and then Riley rides him reverse cowgirl style while Shawnee sits on his face. The girls take turns riding him, getting fucked while on their sides and fucked from behind a couple of times and then once Ben is ready they both drop to their knees in front of him so that he can spray his spunk across their faces and into their mouths.

Scene Three - Jesse Jane And Belladonna: This is a fun one - the two girls get into an argument in the ship and start fighting. Clothes come off and Jesse starts sucking on Bella's tits before getting her on all fours and eating her from behind. Belladonna flips Jesse over for more of the same, returning the oral favors and tonguing her asshole. The girls finger one another up the ass, cram their hands into each other's mouths and masturbate for each other before Jesse and Bella work together on Bella's cunt to finger her to a big, wet, splashy finish.

Scene Four - Stoya, Gabriella Fox, Shyla Stylez, Abby Brooks, Veronica Rayne, Manuel Ferrara, Marco Banderas, Evan Stone, And Charles Dura: Evan holds court over a gaggle of hotties while his pals all join in on what starts out as a big ol' lipstick lesbian orgy. The guys move in and start sucking tits and eating snatch, ensuring their get their cocks sucked as well before moving on to taking turns banging all the poon that is presented to them, blowing their loads all over their respective partners. This scene is quite well shot with good lighting and a really nice, lush, period setting - it almost looks like something out of Caligula!

Scene Five - Shay Jordan And Steven St. Croix: Steven starts things off by showing Shay's perky tits some tongue love but he quickly heads south and eats her out. He fucks her missionary style and then bends her over to take her from behind. She rides him reverse cowgirl style and then he fucks her missionary style again, pulling out at the last minute and shooting his load across her pelvis and stomach.

Scene Six - Jenna Haze And Evan Stone: Jenna decides that doesn't want to share Evan and she gets him all to herself in the bedroom. She starts by sucking his dick but soon he gets her on all fours and fucks her doggy style. She lies on her back and he goes at her that way for a bit, and then she sucks him off again while he smacks her ass and fingers her slit. She rides him cowgirl style and then reverse cowgirl style and the he gets her on her side and spoon fucks her until she decides it's time to jerk him to a finish.

Scene Seven - Brianna Love, Rhylee Richards And Evan Stone: The girls take turns sucking Evan's cock and then he fucks Brianna while Rhylee sits on her face. Brianna rides him cowgirl style for a little while with Rhylee periodically pulling him out to suck on until it's her turn to ride Evan reverse cowgirl style with some help from Brianna's clit happy fingers. The girls alternate between his face and his cock until everyone has had their fill and Evan comes into their open mouths, but not before getting in some quick anal action!

Scene Eight - Katsuni (a.k.a. Katsumi), Jesse Jane And Tommy Gunn: Remember when Katsuni was Katsumi and showed up in a lot of Ninn Worx and Suze Randall titles for Pure Play? Those were the days. With Jules captured, Xifung has her brought to her chamber. Jesse strips and likes at Katsuni while Tommy fucks her from behind, and then Jesse gives him head before she rides him reverse cowgirl style while Katsuni sucks him off now and then. Jesse gives him head and then Katsuni turns over and Tommy fucks her up the ass while she eats Jesse's pussy. Tommy pulls out and makes his 'oh face' before unloading onto the two ladies who have moved underneath his wang to catch his load.

Scene Nine - Jesse Jane, Shay Jordan And Steven St. Croix: After a pretty intense battle involving some CGI skeletons, things start to heat up again when Jesse and Shay wind up in Steven's bedroom with him at the same time. Shay sucks him off while Jesse rides his face and then the girls take turns blowing him. Jesse rides him reverse cowgirl style before Shay hops on and rides him cowgirl style until Steven flips her onto her back and bones her from that angle while she wiggles her fingers into Jesse's pussy. Jesse gives him head while Shay eats her out and then Steven goes back and forth between fucking one and then the other eventually shooting his goop onto Jesse's stomach.

Scene Ten - Belladonna, Sasha Grey And Evan Stone: In the last scene of the feature, Sasha and Belladonna pay Even a visit. They give him head and suck his balls a good long while and then Belladonna rides him reverse cowgirl style while Sasha fingers her and kisses her. The girls suck him off again and then Sasha rides him cowgirl style while Bella licks her ass. Bella eats Sasha out while Evan fucks her from behind and then he fucks Sasha's mouth while Bella eats his ass. Belladonna eventually gets on all fours and Evan fucks her asshole and chokes her while Sasha rubs her pussy. The girls team up on his cock, sucking him and stroking him, until he blows his load into their mouths.

So how does it all pan out? Quite well, once you get past the fact that this is fantasy sex through and through. Many of the performers have got implants and dyed hair and the lighting, make up and cinematography are all meant to make both the guys and the gals in this film look as flawless as possible. If you want your sex remotely realistic, this is not the film for you - but that's okay, it wasn't meant for you in the first place. The film excels in the production value department, it looks just about as slick as anything else out there and it has seemingly set a new standard for glossy effects work in modern adult cinema. Even if not all of the CGI is up to the level of a big Hollywood production (some of it is pretty hokey) you've got to give the technicians and production team credit for really trying here. It's obvious that a lot of love and attention went into completing this picture and it all shows up there on the screen.

As far as the sex goes, despite the high glass/Barbie doll factor, most of it is pretty hot stuff. The performers are enthusiastic which is nice to see even if there are scenes where some of that enthusiasm seems feigned or for the benefit of the camera rather than from the sheer passion and heat of the sex - but again, this is fantasy porn, and that is to be expected. There's a fair bit of variety in both the cast and the actual sex acts that they perform and the film is paced well and quite expertly edited.

The movie itself is fun. It's got a good mix of comedy and adventure to it and while no one here is going to blow anyone away with their acting ability, it is amusing to see some of the industry's most famous stars actually trying to act (and some of them do it surprisingly well). The XXX footage is what holds this all together, however. This is still a porno movie and no matter what kind of candy coating or sheen you want to cover it with it's the fuck footage that people want to see. Thankfully that footage is here in both quantity and quality and the picture winds up a crowd pleaser - it's going to deliver exactly what you expect from it, maybe even a bit more.

The DVD

Video:

Pirates, like its predecessor, was shot on high end digital video in 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen. The black levels get a little bit jittery and you'll see some compression artifacts dancing around in the darker scenes but otherwise this is a very good standard definition transfer (I bet it'd look smokin' on Blu-ray). Colors are nice and accurate and there's a fair amount of detail present in the foreground and in the background of the image from start to finish. While some of the CGI scenes look a little goofy, this isn't so much a problem with the DVD authoring as it is just a shortcoming of CGI in general and you've got to give Adam & Eve/Digital Playground credit for putting as much care into making this production look as good as it does. The first Pirates movie had a rock solid transfer and it's nice to see that this big budget sequel does as well.

Sound:

There are two audio tracks available for the feature, one in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the other in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. There are no closed captioning or subtitle options. If your gear can handle it, definitely go for the 5.1 mix as, while it doesn't make a difference really during the sex scenes, it brings the action scenes to life very, very nicely. The completely original score composed for this production fits the bill quite perfectly, adding an element of suspense to the action scenes and softening up appropriately enough for the more erotic moments in the film. There are plenty of instances where the surround speakers are used very nicely in the mix, and the subwoofer comes alive in a few spots too. Seeing as dialogue is actually important in this film, a rarity in the world of adult features, it is to the DVD's credit that you'll have no problems understanding any of the actors and actresses in the film - everything is very, very clean and very, very clear sounding on this release.

Extras:

Digital Playground have spread the supplements across the four (!!!!) discs in this set as follows:

Disc One:

Aside from animated menus and chapter selection options, the only supplement on the first disc in this four disc collection is an audio commentary track courtesy of director Joone who is joined by many of the principal cast members including Evan Stone, Jesse Jane, Riley Steele, Shay Jordan, Sasha Grey, Robby D., and Tommy Gunn. Not surprisingly, Joone has the most to say here with the rest of the participants chiming in now and again where they can (mainly during scenes which they're involved in - which makes sense). It's a decent enough track with some good 'stories from the trenches' and some reasonably interesting scene specific information from the director. There's also a good sense of humor to the track which makes it fun to listen to.

Disc Two:

The second disc is where you'll find the Extended Sex Scenes. These are literally just longer versions of the sex scenes that we saw in the feature. They more or less play out the same way as they do in the feature, they're just longer in this form and not edited to fit within the context of the story.
Shay Jordan, Mick Blue And James Deen (12:34)
Riley Steele, Shawna Lenee And Ben English (17:31)
Jesse Jane And Belladonne (18:08)
Stoya, Gabriella Fox, Shyla Stylez, Abby Brooks, Veronica Rayne, Manuel Ferrara, Marco Banderas, Evan Stone, And Charles Dura (14:04)
Shay Jordan And Steven St. Croix (9:21)
Jenna Haze And Evan Stone (19:52)
Brianna Love, Rhylee Richards And Evan Stone (10:35)
Katsuni, Jesse Jane And Tommy Gunn (13:49)
Jesse Jane, Shay Jordan And Steven St. Croix (7:37)
Belladonna, Sasha Grey And Evan Stone (17:26)

Also on the second disc is a Bonus Sex Scene (19:24) that stars Stoya, Katsuni and Belladonna. This is actually a pretty steamy scene that starts off with somje mutual pussy eating and finger banging. The ladies take turns sucking on their feet, something Belladonna seems really into the last couple of years, using their toes in all manner of interesting ways. Assholes get fingered, pussies get plumbed and faces get sit on before this one ends. It gets a little rough in spots, with Katsuni choking Belladonna and slapping her in the face a few times.

Disc Three:

The highlight of the third disc is the Behind the Scenes (1:30:55) featurette that gives us a look at what it was like making this picture. Look for on set action involving Katsuni, Jenna Haze, Sasha Grey, Riley Steele, Abbey Brooks, Stoya, and Jesse Jane. The documentary starts on March 1, 2008 when the production began and it goes through to the last day of shooting in Apri1 of 2008. We get a look at the costume design work, some of the effects work, some of the stunts, and of course some of the sex scenes as they were being shot and choreographed. Joone shows up here though his face is hidden. The interviews are more interesting than most porno movie talking head blurbs and they actually lend some legitimate insight into what it was like working on a big budget feature like this and what it's like working in the industry in general.

From there we move on to the more specific featurettes starting with Set Design (10:00) and then moving on to Wardrobe (6:20), Pirate Extras (10:44), Make-Up (4:57) and finally Sword Training (24:24). The titles make it pretty clear what each segment covers in terms of content but these too are worth a look as they're both interesting and enjoyable and they give you an appreciation for how much effort went into these often unsung aspects of the production.

Rounding out the third disc is a Slide Show (5:00) that contains some fun and often revealing photographs taken on set.

Disc Four:

The forth and final DVD in the set starts off with a selection of brief Deleted Scenes: Mr & Mrs Panda Bear (0:47), Al Meets Edward And Jules (0:30), Hello Again (0:41), Pirates Lunching (0:56), Captain Edward Kirk (1:26), Edward Bids Adieu (0:52), and Chase Guns (0:13). The short nature of this material basically means that none of it is particularly essential or anything but it's always interesting to see what didn't make the final cut of a film and some of this material is rather amusing. Also amusing is the Bloopers (8:55), which is followed by a Making Of FX (2:37) that shows us how green screen technology was used to create the world in which the movie takes place.

Look for a few more behind the scenes clips including Riley's First Day On Set (6:01) and a Casting Call (5:12) bit that features some rather uninspired line readings. In the Interviews section you'll find seventeen clips that pick the brains of the various on camera talent who appear in the picture, while the Confessionals allows thirteen of those same people to talk about what they liked and didn't like about whatever it was they had to do on a given particular day. This material isn't bad in and of itself but by the time you get through the mammoth making of documentary, the shorter featurettes and the commentary you'll probably find that a fair amount of material is covered more than once.

A 2006 AVN Awards Show (7:13) clips pays tribute to the first Pirates movie as does a clip from the Premiere Party (4:02) that took place at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood back in 2005. Rounding out the extras are a batch of trailers for the feature (full length and teaser), the original Pirates, and other digital Playground productions like Island Fever IV, Cheerleaders, Babysitters, Gabriella, Fox Sexy Hot, Deeper XI, Naked Aces V, Minx, Shay Jordan Scream and finally, Kiss Kiss.

Final Thoughts:

If slick and polished is what you want then slick and polished is what you'll get. Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge is a high-gloss fuck fantasy that gathers up an interesting cast and does a decent job with the story and the production values. It's a little on the predictable side and the attempts at Hollywood-esque special effects don't work so well but the film is an interesting achievement both technically and erotically speaking and it looks and sounds better than anything else out there in the wide, world of porno. A fun film for couples or XXX feature fans, this one comes highly recommended.