You can't be serious

Rating: 3/10 (15 July 2006)

After watching this film today I was absolutely astounded to find so many positive, if not downright glowing, reviews on IMDb. This film was simply awful and, since I enjoyed the "Black Pearl" so much, immensely disappointing.
For starters, this thing is at least an hour too long. The length of the film is completely ridiculous, unnecessary and is almost as if Verbinski were infected with the same disease that ensures Peter Jackson will never shoot a film under 3 hours for the rest of his life. "Dead Man's Chest" is a mess. The story lacks any kind of cohesiveness and in a number of scenes I was left thinking yeah, the CG is cool, but why? What's even more irritating is that not one of the actors did anything less than a really good job. Depp is, of course, simultaneously dark and funny. Knightley is, of course, beautiful and seductive and somehow always looks classier than anyone around her. Bloom is, well, let's just agree that he fits the role and played to the limit of his abilities. What I noticed near the end of the film is what the cast lacked: Geoffry Rush. Rush provided something in the Pearl that Nighy, even with his considerable talent, couldn't possibly replace with his Davy Jones-in-a-green-suit bit.
I found myself bored and uninterested after the first twenty minutes. I think the bottom line for this one is CG effects and a previously successful film has very little to do with making a movie that's enjoyable. I sincerely hope Verbinski and crew will come to their collective senses before completely destroying what should be a great trilogy.