Worst sequel I have seen in awhile

Rating: 3/10 (23 August 2006)

The first one was much better than I thought it would be, given that it was based on a Disney Land theme park ride. I didn't really feel like it needed to be turned into a trilogy, however when the sequel was announced I thought what the hell - maybe it will surprise me. Sadly this film falls into the category of over produced Hollywood cash grab. Which is too bad because there's plenty of potential for a good action adventure movie. I probably should've guessed something was fishy when they announced Keith Richards would put in an appearance as Depp's father (though not in this film, lucky us we have something to look forward to in #3).
The first movie was great because of the actors. Unfortunately it appears the directors and producers got a little too excited about special effects and have crammed the movie with pointless and redundant action scenes that don't really give the actors a chance to do their thing. I felt like I barely saw anything of Will Turner or the others. Johnny Depp managed to recapture the general attitude of Captain Jack but the terrible script fails him time and again. Bill Nighy "virtually" steals the show as Davey Jones, though there's not much left of him besides his voice and penetrating eyes.
Granted the visual effects are some of the best I have ever seen, especially the animation on Davey Jones tentacle beard. But the scenes with the Kraken drag on endlessly when they should be heart pounding, and the swashbuckling action scenes are often so badly choreographed you never feel they are actually fighting. And how about the offensive cannibal natives? What was that all about? Too many scenes are nothing more than cartoony gags fishing for cheap laughs, you could practically hear a pin drop in the theater as the actors were put through infantile slapstick routines. Many jokes concerning secondary characters are shamelessly rehashed and its just plain boring.
People who compare this to Empire Strikes Back apparently forgot that Empire was full of revelations. At the end of Empire we're left wondering if Vader is really Luke's father and if we'll ever see Han Solo alive again. At the end of this one we feel no closer to any resolution, having learned nothing of our heroes, without even a second thought as to whether or not Jack will make it out of there just fine. Its so painfully obvious where this is all headed. Its really quite a bad comparison to make because Empire was the strongest of the three Star Wars films and this will likely be remembered as the weakest of the Pirates trilogy.
From the trailer I assumed we'd see Will Turner and Miss Swann rejoin Captain Jack aboard the Black Pearl for more swashbuckling adventures on the high seas. This movie somehow managed to deliver this wrapped in a boring and convoluted mess of a package. Waste of my time and the first film's potential.
ironically I give it 3 stars for the special effects, which ruthlessly drown the rest of the production