1 _ 3

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2006)

The first Pirates movie, unlike Dead Man's Chest, was a complete story. The movie's producers, directors, and actors had to make a film that would stand on its own, as there was no guarantee that it would be as wildly successful as it was. But once that first movie, Curse of the Black Pearl, became so well-loved, Disney immediately shifted its focus from creating a great sequel to managing a great franchise. Thus we have a Dead Man's Chest which extends, rather than advances, the story. It is filled with the high-quality graphics, fun characters, and self-effacing humor that we loved about the first, but can hardly be called a "movie" in its own right. What actually happened over the course of 2 hours could have been 20 minutes of set-up at the beginning of the real sequel, which will be the final piece of the trilogy: At World's End.
The bottom line is that Pirates 1 was a great movie, just as Pirates 3 will be. Pirates 2 is only there to milk the proverbial cash cow, and because trilogies seem to be in vogue of late. It adds little value to the franchise.