The Curse of the Unexpected Trilogy

Rating: 5/10 (9 July 2006)

As soon as I heard there was going to be a POTC 2 & 3, I was pleading that they didn't mess it up. I very much enjoyed the first film: it was light-hearted but had a compelling story and some good characters. So I was begging that, having hit this 'IP jackpot' with Black Pearl, they didn't "do a Matrix" to it and turn a great (standalone) first movie into a rambling tart's palace of a trilogy... So did they?
Well, for starters it feels like they've borrowed ideas from lots of different places. The trouble is it seems they didn't know when to stop.. There's too much going on with the story (which makes it far less captivating than the first one), bits of plot that didn't make much sense and they've rammed it full of characters like it's some sort of "buddy movie" 10 years later reunion, especially those re-appearing from the first movie who I didn't need or particularly want to see again..
Oh well, the action scenes were OK and Cap'n Jack had his moments, as you'd expect - although /he/ wasn't as funny as the first film either.
Disappointed, but like a moth attracted to a glimmer of hope, I'll have to check out the third one to see if they manage a swashbuckling rescue (of the series) :)