Excellent, but without the element of surprise

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2011)

The unexpected success of POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl (aka Pirates 1) was such that a sequel was inevitable. Or, to be more precise, the first half of a sequel running over two movies.
Pirates 2 picks up shortly after Pirates 1 ends, and reunites the cast and creative team behind the first movie, and adds some other characters, Bill Nighy's squid-faced Davy Jones being the main one. In fact, Jones' supernatural crew of half human, half fish cutthroats are one of the high points of Pirates 2, together with an amusing script, a convoluted story, and some fun (and funny) set pieces.
Had Pirates 1 not come first, this would be rated higher, I am sure - the fact that Pirates 1 had set the bar so high (and so unexpectedly) meant that any sequel had a huge amount to live up to: Pirates 2 just about managed it.