Not as good as the first

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2006)

A step down from "Curse of the Black Pearl", but fantastic none the less. Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann embark on another voyage of fantasy. Lucky for us, none of the main cast or crew has been changed; unfortunately, some of the jokes are being reused as well.
Captain Jack Sparrow makes another miraculous (and side-splitting) entrance, where he then boards the "Black Pearl" with his crew. They head out in search of a key, which leads to a chest, holding something Jack doesn't say. Complicated, yes; funny, yes. Meanwhile, back at Port Royal, Will and Elizabeth are about to be married when they are arrested for helping Jack escape the gallows. The punishment is death and the only way to escape it is to bring Cutler Beckett (the man who has arrested them) Jack's special compass.
We discover Jack had made a deal with Davy Jones, and it's time to pay up. Jack, in his usual manner, tries to get out of it. Will and Elizabeth soon join him for an adventurous movie.
The beloved theme music and other tunes return, along with a touch of new score. Often, it seems, the director tries to recreate the scenes that made the first "Pirates" so famous. For instance, the "But, why is the rum gone?" line is seen in one of Jack's early declarations "Why is the rum always gone?".
This film is a bit of a dilemma. You should watch the first film before you see this one, in order to get a lot of what goes on, however, if you have, the second is bound to be a bit of a disappointment. Just try your best not to compare them (like anyone could resist).