A mixed bag...

Rating: 5/10 (16 July 2006)

It's a mixed bag for sure. I came out of this movie thoroughly annoyed and disappointed, while one of my friends came out excited and feeling quite fulfilled. So, why the difference? I cannot speak for her, but I will do my best to explain what I thought of the film.
My initial response once the film ended was that it was unnecessarily drawn out. There were two extremely long action sequences that added nothing to the plot, and it seemed like they had only been placed there to fill some time. I do want to point out that I did think that the main plot was fine, but they could have covered the 2nd and 3rd film all in this film - another film is not necessary for the same story.
One other thing that bothered me was the fact that so much money was being spent on the film and yet there were so many times when it just jumped out at you screaming - Hey, Look at us standing in front of this huge blue screen! Considering the scope of the film, you would think that they would take more time to make it seem more realistic. Though I shouldn't talk, it's better than I could ever do. And some of the scenes and imagery was amazing!!! The characters were as they usually were. They were fun. But there didn't seem to be the same passion as the first film. Very little development, and where things did happen, it wasn't really believable. Perhaps the characterization was left as it was because there is going to be a 3rd movie - which really is just acting as the second half of this second movie.
Anyway, if you really love the Pirate movies, you will probably enjoy this one too. If you are just somewhere in the middle with it all, you will probably be like me and wish you had just decided to see anything else. It's not a strong sequel, but a sequel nonetheless - and that is enough to keep some people happy.