Not nearly as good as the first

Rating: 3/10 (11 July 2006)

I just did not like this movie. First of all its at least 45 minutes too long. Jack Sparrow was so comical in the first pirates. Now he is over the top with the foppishness. They made him a caricature of a man, previously he was clever, manly and somewhat heroic, now he seems like a coward. Yes, he comes back to "save" the crew, but, for the rest of the movie he is cowering. The sword fight on the island was just too over the top. Jack again was running away for most of the "fight". They didn't use Johnny Depp to the best of his potential. The clips I saw before seeing the movie were the only things funny in the entire movie. The rest of the movie was just like a special effect smorgasbord. It was almost a science fiction feature with the giant octopus Kraken. I was more into the story and the comedy in the first one, the second one was all about the effects. Elizabeth Swan, boring as always, now all of a sudden knows how to fight like an expert swordsman. Yes, the movie says that Will taught her how, but wow. How long were they engaged? I am guessing a few months, to learn how to fight this well would truly take years of training. She learned how to fight expertly in an amazingly short time. And the over acting when they were on the island. She was screaming like a banshee and then keels over from the heat (tongue in cheek) to get the other three to stop fighting. I'm sorry, but this woman has no comedic timing...it was overplayed and just looked ridiculous. It could have been better had the pirates stopped for a second, looked over at her, and then continued fighting. As it was, it just seemed like she was in her own little world having some kind of fit and nobody even noticed. The movie had way too much of wooden, boring Orlando Bloom. They made him the hero, the clever one, whereas in the first, it was Johnny Depp. The lady in the swamp. I liked her very much WHEN I could understand what she was saying. An authentic accent is great, but it detracts when you can't decipher it. I had such high hopes for this movie, and I really didn't like it at all. I bought my tickets in advance so I could see it immediately. Now I wish I would have waited. My daughter, brother, and fiancée all agree with this assessment. I will wait to read some viewer reviews before seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 3. No need to waste money when it will be on HBO in two months. I know this film has started filming already, but writers please...less of Elizabeth and Will...and more of a heroic, manly strong and funny Jack Sparrow!!!!!