Not as good as the original

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2006)

It seems that this movie already has scads of positive reviews. I must say that after seeing the movie last night, I was very disappointed. However, not all of it is bad; the acting was great, for the most part, and the special effects were top-notch.
It is important to view this film and the upcoming movie as one. As a story, the movie does a good job of setting us up for what is going to happen in the third film. However, as a stand-alone movie, I don't think this movie is as good as others are saying. I remember watching a half-hour in thinking that the movie would get better. It didn't. Mindless action sequences (and some were downright stupid; the prisoners inside the bone-cages reminded me of human hamsters on wheels) did nothing to help this film, and there was very little plot development--at least not enough for my tastes, considering the length of the film.
However, I am going to refrain from passing final judgment on this film until I see the third movie. If the purpose of the movie was to build up the plot for the series's climax, then Pirates 2 did an excellent job. I think my problem was that I went in with higher expectations than I should; contrary to what others are saying, this movie in no way equals the first. However, concerning the series as a whole, it is paramount.
Not great, but we'll see what happens next.