A Fun, Solid Sequel that doesn't hold a candle to the first film

Rating: 6/10 (8 July 2006)

I've just returned from the theatre where I witnessed the heralded return of the witty Captain Jack, beautiful Lizzie Swan, and honorable Will Turner. This second installment is nonstop fun action and is loaded with great special effects.
The basic plot is one that does good to pull the same characters back for us to enjoy and does some at providing a further glimpse into Jack Sparrow's past by giving some background around his rise to Captainhood.
All that said though... I am still a little disappointed. I watched the 1st film last night to refresh my memory prior to tonight's viewing.
Most sequels fail to live up to the original (and with Disney's recent run, I probably should have expected even less) yet, after returning most of the cast from the first (strongly noted exception: Geoffrey Rush as Barbosa), the director in Gore Verbinski, and the same writers (from what I can tell), I let my expectations soar. My ship's sails fell a little flat... to me, it seems that much of the entertaining banter from the first flick was gone, lost in special effects and action sequences. There are undoubtedly efforts made, and even some successes, but the original really kept the dialogue fresh and clever - a smile rarely had time to vacate my face. Whereas the dialogue itself was the primary source of comedy in the original, I felt that much of that magic was replaced with action scene after action scene in which the viewer was bombarded with situational humor and with long sequences without much of a smile.
I don't want to sound like I'm trashing this version - it really it quite fun. Looking at it now, it's almost unfair to draw comparison's to the original but sequels do invite them. I am sure that the second viewing for me will be more pleasurable as my expectations have been re-established so that I can enjoy the film for what it is: a very fun, solid sequel lacking much of the magic of the original. It will surely live strong if only due to it's predecessor's genius. Savvy? 7/10