Fun, worthy of a super-sized popcorns. But I almost want to rename it POTC: The curse of a sequel

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2006)

********Spoilers Warning******* Is it worth the wait? Yes for me, and if nothing else, just for seeing Depp reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. It was a raucous, fun ride as I expected. The CGI is incredible. It's action packed. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann mature a little bit this time around. And good ol' Jack, one of the most loved pirates in movie history, is as sleazy and funny as ever and always scheming up something. However, this time he's also slightly out of his elements, and not quite sure what he wants. Maybe in the 3rd movie, we will get to know why. Devy Jones might be just the most impressive villain coming out of the movies in the last few years. The ending, with Jack returning to his fearless self and walking into the mouth of Kraken and the return of Barbossa, is absolutely jaw dropping.
That said, I walked out of the theater feeling entertained but slightly disappointed. There are too many actions and not enough Jack Sparrow, too many plots and not enough building up of the characters. The film makers are so eager to make sure that this is going to the biggest and the most spectacular ride in Summer and that there will be plenty left for the 3rd installment, they forgot the success of the first POTC is mostly due to unusual and vastly intriguing character(s). Take away Jack Sparrow and there's not much left to watch (OK, there's still Barbossa). Here not only that we have only bits and pieces of Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth suddenly becomes attracted to Jack, Bootstrap Bill came back from nowhere, and seemly dozens of new characters show up with very little background and introduction. They all seem to be lost in the non-stop actions and a very complicated plot.
Hopefully everything will fall into place in the final movie. I will definitely see the movie the 1st open weekend. And Disney better not ruins it for me the magic and the enjoyment that came with the 1st one.