This film does NOT deserve an 8.6!

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2007)

I just saw this movie yesterday with a couple of friends, and, well... it was okay. Not great, barely even not good, just okay. I mean, it definitely fixed some of the problems of DMC; there's definitely more plot and less action. But that becomes a problem all by itself: there's TOO MUCH plot now. And it really makes this already long movie feel even LONGER than it already is because of bad pacing on the parts of the director and editor. At one point there's even about five, long, awkward seconds of blackness for no good reason. Also, I hope you enjoy wide shots of ships sailing, because there's plenty of it here! But enough about the pacing, let's talk about the characters. Well, the whole crew's still here, and Depp, Bloom, and Knightly all pull off generally good performances, if not their best in the series. Barbosa's back, which is welcome, and makes for some great Jack/Barbosa arguments over the ownership of the Black Pearl, but most of the other characters are lacking in all fields. Even the two big new characters, played by Chow Yung Fat and Keith Richards, feel like pointless add-ons, added for more star power and no more. Fat's character barely has a distinctive personality, and is killed off way too quickly to make much of an impact, and Richards is in it for all of one really quick scene. And, although Sparrow is up to his usual antics in this one, including a very surreal scene in Hell that'll make you go "What the hell?", there's no really good "Jack-Escape" scene, like in the other two.
One really big complaint I had with film is, admittedly, of no consequence to the actual quality of the film, but it still bugged me. After all of the set-up of DMC for a big, climactic clash involving the awesome Krakken, the only time we see the giant beast is when our heroes stop on an island and find it dead on a beach. I mean, WTF! Couldn't we at least see it get killed? But I suppose it doesn't matter too much.
After all of my complaints, you're probably reconsidering going out to see this movie. However, with all of it's flaws, remember I still gave it a 6. That's because, even after it's flaws, it is still a fairly fun movie to watch, if not a bit confusing at times. And the finale, though not as cool as DMC's three-way water-wheel sword fight, is very satisfying, and is fittingly epic. If you go get a refill on your popcorn and/or use the bathroom during the slow parts, and skip straight to the action, then this isn't a bad way to spend about three hours of your summer. Just don't expect too much, and you won't be disappointed.