Not as good as the first, BUT...

Rating: 6/10 (28 January 2007)

When I first saw this in the theater I was horribly disappointed. And while I still can't understand how anyone would prefer this to the original film, repeated viewings have caused this entry to grow on me considerably.
My biggest problem is still that they spent so much time repeating jokes and situations from the first film instead of delivering something new. In fact, it's all the ties to COTBP that really hurt this one. They had an opportunity to tell any number of amazing stories in this world. The way that the Indiana Jones series took the same character and supporting cast and dropped them in the middle of a brand new adventure each time out. Same people. Different story. I really thought that's what this franchise would end up being like. And even on the writer's commentary they acknowledge that this was an option but instead decided to try and unify the movies and turn it into a trilogy where each one was strongly connected to the others. I think this was a mistake. Soooo much time is spent finding excuses to get the characters back together and keep them tied into each others stories. And perhaps if it had seemed more effortless this would have been okay. But it feels like they're grabbing at straws and relying on your love for the first one. But nothing in this film is as clever, funny, or awe inspiring as COTBP.
But it's certainly not a total failure either. The cannibal island sequence, while having nothing to do with the overall plot, is an amazing piece of film-making. The stunt work there is just phenomenal. And it's the perfect balance of humor and breathtaking action. I believe it's the strongest chunk of the film. Which is odd considering it does little to move the plot along. I also love the three way sword fight near the climax. I've heard complaints that it goes on too long but I was too enthralled to notice. I thought it was expertly devised and executed. These two moments made it feel as if I were watching something I'd never seen in a movie before.
But the exposition scenes seems endless and it hinders character development because so much time is spent talking about what's happening. And then talking about it some more. And some more. And then some more. And then when the characters are given new places to go it just feels off. The biggest offense being Elizabeth's sudden attraction to Jack. Their dynamic in the first film was perfect: him thinking she was hopelessly in love with him and her being completely repulsed by him. It seemed like a lame attempt at a love triangle. And while the commentary did clear up their intentions a little bit, I still feel this was a mistake. I just never bought into it.
I was secretly hoping they'd shy away from the supernatural stuff this time out. In the original, aside from the curse itself, it felt as if this was all taking place in a some kind of real world. In this one that's impossible. This is like a whole other universe. While I dig Bill Nighy as Davy Jones (and WOW is that CGI incredible) I don't think he holds a candle to Barbossa. And with Barbossa's crew we had unique characters with their own personalities and not just cardboard cut out villains who are pretty much indistinguishable from one another like Jones' crew. And the whole thing with the Kraken just felt like it belonged in some other movie. That was really pushing the supernatural elements. At least for my taste.
There's still A LOT to like about the movie, but like I said... I don't think it comes close to the original. It's too bloated, overly-complicated, and shamelessly steals most of its humor from COTBP. I hope At World's End fares better. But I still wish they'd concentrated on making stand alone films instead of relentlessly winking at the audience with in jokes to the original.