an action-packed if long Pirates

Rating: 6/10 (28 May 2007)

I went to see this movie with no expectation, since I heard so-so reviews about it. The good news is that if you go in not expecting much, it actually is not a bad movie. It is quite long - almost 3 hours. It's probably an hour too long, and I am still not sure why they had to go to Singapore in the first place (could have rewritten that part to cut 50 minutes off). However, the special effects are spectacular, all the favorite characters looked great. And of course, Jack Sparrow gets extra screen time. The problem is that they tried to have too many stories weaving in and out of the main plot. There was multiple events happening at once, and I am not sure if that's a good thing in an action flick like this. Also, there was more action and not as much light-hearted humor as compared to the original, which made the movie felt even longer. Overall, it's not a must-see movie if you haven't watched the previous Pirates. However, it's good eye candy for 3 hours if you've seen them or just like the main characters. Just sit back and enjoy, and not worry about too much about the plot. P.S. There is a little clip at the end if you sit past the looong credit list. And yes, Keith Richard really looks like Jack's father, hehe (they must have used tons of makeup on him b/c he actually look pretty OK).