A solid second outing

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2006)

This film does for the Pirates franchise what Empire Strikes Back did for the original SW trilogy. It sets in motion perils and obstacles for our heroes. It further embellishes upon the characters that were introduced in the first film. It amps up the action and brings in new characters with flair. All of this equals to a really good follow-up to one of the biggest surprise hits of 2003.
Jack is back and he has never been better. Depp brings him full on and you love every minute of it. Knightly and Bloom are given much more dramatic meat this time and they feast aplenty. Both are in fine form. Majority of the main supporting cast from the first film are here and they again deliver. There are some new baddies introduced, the best of those being Davy Jones. Through the great character work of Bill Nighy and the fantastic craftsmanship of the ILM folks, Davy Jones is a wonder to watch.
If there is anything that could be complained about is that there is so much more of everything, it leaves you feeling a bit like Jack after a night with his beloved Rum. But that is a minor complaint.
The ending leaves us with perfect surprise and peril that we MUST see the third film to see how it all turns out.