Entertaining yes, but not half as good as the first one.

Rating: 7/10 (6 December 2006)

Well, of course stakes were high to the sequel of the wonderful and hilarious first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. After watching the second one now, I must say that I am a little disappointed. As always in those blockbusters they try everything to top the previous movie and so they did in this one, CGIwise. The CGI was even more elaborate than in the first movie, the ghost pirates ghastlier, slimier, whatnot. Thing is though, if you do a thing like that, don't forget to add the charme and inventiveness story-wise that made it all worthwhile watching in the first place!
Seriously, the kraken was great. The ships and island design was marvellous. Davy Jones and his crew are frightening and creepy, but after some time you get tired of seeing another detail to a pirate-turning-into-sea-creature CGI and wish to have a little more story to hold on to. And that in fact is the biggest let-down of the movie. At times in the movie I was vividly thinking of the first Pirates movie and found myself wishing they had done some things different.
The hunt for Davy Jones's chest is nothing more than a repetition of the story of the first movie in a slightly varied form. There's no character development whatsoever for all of the main characters, especially and sadly so, Captain Jack Sparrow. Heck, of course I loved Jack Sparrow in the first movie, but in this movie there's no new side to him whatsoever and even some of the jokes his character pulls off (some of the best in all the movie) only entertain because they refer to the first movie. I wish they had given Johnny Depp and thus Jack Sparrow a little more to do than just repeat the whole routine of the first movie. A wicked love twist, a turning point where he gets to reflect some of his motives of becoming a pirate, whatever... something that would have made him a little less shallow. Yup, the wonderful Jack Sparrow has become a little too flat in this one character-wise and that's my biggest complaint. Calling him a caricature of his own character in the first movie would probably go too far but I guess you know what I mean after watching the movie. God, it's Johnny Depp, give the man something to do and he'll shine so why not try something new here?
Orlando Bloom as Will and Keira Knightly as Elisabeth get the plot twists in this one, which is nice to see and gives their characters sort of a more round feeling. I loved that Norrington was back in this one in a very different "shape" as in the first movie. And I loved the ending "surprise entrance" of one well beloved character no one was expecting to show up. But the cliffhanging itself was a little annoying as the movie was too obviously ending to make you go see the third one. A little more subtlety would have helped here.
The movie does entertain, no doubt, and it was great to see the characters back in action. But all in all the first movie had much more to offer, most of all a heart and soul, which somehow was lacking in this movie. Sadly, because you think after making such a wonderful first movie, they would have learned what the audience cares about.
Elaborate CGI, great. But the story and characters were what carried the first movie. I hope they remember that when they finish the third Pirates of the Caribbean.