Exactly what I wanted to see

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2006)

Being realistic isn't one of the "Pirates" franchise's strong points, so going into this movie, I wasn't expecting a cohesive storyline, and I totally enjoyed the movie. Everything about it was enjoyable, from the music to the settings to the dialogue to the action scenes. I loved it.
The first time I saw it, there were times when I thought, "This is too ludicrous. This is getting stupid," (I don't need to actually cite the situations, they'll be pretty clear when you see the movie) but at the end of the movie, I looked back and thought, Wow, that was an awesome movie. And the ending? Bizarre, but it perfectly sets up the third movie. (Oh, and stick around after the credits, too. There's an amusing little cutscene after they've all run. Not too many people know about it.)
I was really surprised and pleased at the return of Governor Swann, Norrington and Gibbs, and at the relative largeness of their roles. I had thought that these smaller characters from the first movie would be phased out to make more room for Jack, Will and Elizabeth, but they actually contributed to the story and were welcome returners. (I was also really glad that Ragetti and Pintel returned) In all, the movie had amusing and amazing action scenes, romance, great music, great returning and new characters, an actual story, and even a little character development. What more could you want?