Possibly the dullest movie I have seen in a long while

Rating: 2/10 (13 July 2006)

It has a running time of approx 2 1/2 hours, and feels as though it runs for 5. By the end, I just didn't care for any of the characters; I merely wanted out of the cinema. There is no shape to the plot, which is simply a rag-tag of events that occur one after the other. It makes little sense because is it a collection of pirate clichÃ©s which pile on top of each other with no discernible pattern or logic (cannibals, sea monsters, a voodoo princess, peg legs, rum, sword fights, comedy intellectuals, bar brawls and so on). Characterisation is paper thin, and they all are highly unsympathetic - Bloom and Knightly as romantic leads are woefully inadequate and passionless for example. Depp's Jack Sparrow could have been the saving of the picture, but became highly annoying 5 minutes in and did not improve. Depp can light up the screen in some movies, but has become a collection of twitches and slurred lines with little direction in this one.
Vorbinski throws the kitchen sink into the mix, so I came out feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of pointless characters, plot twists, fights, explosions and CGI. Personally, I blame George Lucas for helping to create an industry where story, dialogue and sympathetic individuals are drowned in merchandising opportunities and effects shots, and a 2 1/2 hour movie can seemingly go on forever without point.
Count me out for "Pirates 3: At movie's end"