Somewhat disappointing in comparison to the original

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2006)

First, I'd like to say that the original movie is my favorite movie of all-time. So, of course, I've been dying to see this thing for a long time, as many of us have. I left the theatre with a very mixed reaction, but I'd say I was more disappointed than anything else. Rather than go on about how I don't like it, I'll give my honest reasons of exactly WHY I was disappointed.
The plot was interesting. I'll give it that. I was interested in the whole Davy Jones, Dead Man's Chest storyline. I enjoyed it, and I would liked to have seen a little more detail on the past of Davy Jones, and mainly a better explanation on his heart and how it "controlled the sea". When I sit down for a movie that is two and a half hours long, I don't want to have questions. I understand that there are supposed to be loose ends in order to build suspense for the third installment, but the plot just seemed to be a little incomplete.
The acting was solid. Johnny Depp didn't seem to be quite as good as he was in the first film, but I don't think that is his fault necessarily. The writing was good, but not quite as clever and witty as the first. I would have liked to seen even more humor. The audience seemed to really feed off of that, and it created a great atmosphere. I think that's what gave the first installment an edge- it wasn't just a good action movie. It mixed comedy with drama, action with romance. It had something for everyone, and yet it remained a family film. That's why everyone loved it. That's why it was nearly impossible for this film to be as good as it's prequel. That doesn't mean that this isn't a good movie. As far as good entertainment goes, it's about as good as it will get. Extremely entertaining. But it lacks that "edge" that the first film had, and it lacks that edge due to the plot and the writing that failed in comparison to the first film.