Surprisingly great given what I had heard

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2006)

It boggles my mind how down the critics were on this. It's at the same level as the first one, which everyone seemed to love. Yes, there are some things to complain about, mostly that there's just way too much going on. Characters from the first one that, if you last saw it when it was in the theaters (as I did), you won't remember pop up at regular intervals. There are several separate plot lines going on at the same time, and once in a while one character will be away on his or her own adventure for a long time and then come back to the main plot line without explaining where they've been or what they've been doing, and requiring no explanation for what has happened with all the other characters. But, really, so what? There's more than enough exposition elsewhere, and as long as the audience understands what's going on, it doesn't matter too much. The story may be overcomplicated, but it's generally very good. The bottom line is that the movie is a hell of a lot of fun. Of all the movies this summer, this is the one that doesn't disappoint at all. It's a thousand times better than Superman, that's for sure. Where Superman was slow and dull and ponderous, Pirates' action never stops (which I'm sure will annoy some) and it doesn't aspire to be anything more than a really fun ride. There're a lot of cool monsters, too. If you liked the first one, definitely don't miss this while it's still on the big screen.