Falls short of the precedent set by the first

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2006)

The first Pirates movie was without a doubt awesome. This one fell short of that. To answer "why?" it is prudent to list some of the things I think made the first one so great. 1- it was original. That's probably one of its strongest points. The storyline and characters were all very unique and original. Nothing in there we have heard before. 2- it had humor. Not that the second one doesn't, but going back to the originality the humor in the first was fresh. The second time around just isn't as funny. 3- it had a very decisive narrative arch (beginning middle and end). The second was lacking to varying degrees in all three of those categories.
This will have spoilers. You've been warned.
The second one lacks originality. This will go without saying to some degree given that it is a sequel of the first, but I am more referring to the same themes that repeat themselves in the second from the first. Like someone sleeping with pigs getting woken with a bucket of water, the rum being gone, and of course the whole thing having freaky looking enemies with the odds stacked completely against you. There are others, this is just to name a few. Many repeat themselves in one-liners or small tidbits like "Why is the rum always gone?" as mentioned before.
I think another thing that bothers a lot of people is how this movie ended (or rather didn't). Watching Jack's grim fate and then ending with promise of a voyage to World's End with the returning Captain Barbossa is hardly a satisfying spot to halt the movie. It's like hitting a brick wall, just too sudden. I know it's priming us for the last one to come out next summer but I hate "to be continued" endings and I think I'm not alone.
The beginning felt slow to really explain what was happening and to get something happening. I don't like the way they portrayed Norrington in this one. He was not a bad person in the first one, just one who has lived his life bound by and following the rules (which makes him uptight, but he was still respectable). In the second one he seems completely without honor. The scene with the cannibals was cute, the rolling ball scene was a little much. Later, the sword fight on the water wheel was a bit too much as well.
The good stuff- yes, Captain Jack is back and he's as good as ever. The graphics are once again amazing. It is fun to watch and you get into it. It leaves you wanting to watch the next one.