Why have I been reviewing all of the part twos?

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2007)

That will remain a (partial) mystery. Why this movie was not as good as the first, however, will not be.
The movie was just a little too "goofy" for my tastes, in that typical Disney fashion. It failed to balance comedic silliness with seriousness as well as its predecessor.
Secondly, for the first time, I started to truly dislike Will's overly virtuous character and his often ill-timed showings of bravado. Whether the fault lies primarily with Orlando Bloom or his character is unknown, but I felt that Bloom's performances were a little too wooden this time around. In addition, Will's oft-brash behavior seems to lack consequences. When you see his run-ins with the villain of this movie, a squid-like version of Davey Jones, you will understand my sentiments.
In general, Davey Jones was a "suitable" villain for the second film, being neither perfect nor absolutely terrible. I feel that Barbossa from the original movie was more balanced and fun. He was a "bad" guy who wasn't exactly bad, thus providing ample excuse for his lack of cruelty. Davey Jones, on the other hand, is heartless- in the full literal sense if you get what I mean- and because of this, the writers are forced to give him some out of character moments to prevent him from killing Will. He's also paired with the typical idiotic crew, perfect for holding back the otherwise unstoppable villain enough to allow the heroes juuussst the wiggle room they need to escape all the disastrous situations they seem to get into. The writers also saved Davey Jones from total character-suicide by making him have a curse (which was never explained) that prevents him from getting on land, or even within 10 feet of the shallows. This means he is forced to depend on the aforementioned stupid crew, rather than be stupid himself.
The plot of this movie was at least as good as the original, with even more twists, and the much-welcomed reappearance of a two very specific characters from the first film. The major problem with judging the plot, however, is that we don't even get to see how it all ends! This movie follows a trend set by the first two Lord of the Rings, ending exactly where the first film is going to start off with no warning whatsoever. I found this a little disappointing- especially since I embarrassingly didn't know about the third one for some reason when I was watching the second. Still, it wasn't enough of a pain in the butt for me to detract any points from the film's rating.
If you feel like I haven't said very many good things about the movie, well, keep reading- that's coming. Then right after that, a few more bad things, then my conclusion.
The good news is this; that wonderfully piratey theme song that gave the first Pirates a lot of its appeal is back in full force. The stunts and choreography in the film are still as amazing and tasteful as in the first- if you detract the few goofy ones close to the beginning of the film. Jack Sparrow is as witty, endearing, and as drunk as ever. Elizabeth, still gorgeous and kick-ass without being annoyingly pro-girl-power, is taking an even bigger role in this movie than in the first one. I for one do not mind.
In fact, one of my favorite scenes in the movie was Elizabeth and Jack's discussion about "curiosity". I think Johnny Depp and Keira Knightly stole the entire show and left Orlando Bloom standing in the dust.
Good news aside, I am now free to address the one scene in this movie that left me grinning in a combination of embarrassment, annoyance, and amusement.
I was proud of Pirates of the Caribbean for introducing its own unique flavor, spirit, or whatever it is you choose to call it into theaters and DVD shelves everywhere. This is why I wondered exactly why they chose- like Superman Returns, V for Vendetta, the One, and other films that I cannot at this moment recall- to incorporate Matrix-like effects into their movie. In just the film where I thought that I was safe from incredibly slow-moving flying bullets, they sneak one in.
Sure, it was well timed, and it was just one bullet. There were no slow kicks or time-defying dodging of sword thrusts and/or punches in the film. Still, it was just a little over the top, and worthy of detracting a tiny fraction of a point.
Well, despite all, I still loved the film, I still recommend the film, and I still desperately want to see the last? installment.