The short review is simple. I liked it much better than the second movie, but more or less the same as the first. That said, it is a completely different feel from the first movie.

Spoilers

First of all, the good stuff.

1. I actually liked Will Turner and Elizabeth this movie. Will actually was bad ass. I didn’t like either of them in the last movie. And it made sense why Elizabeth was suddenly tanned and so skinny [ie living on a ship for months.]

2. The opening sequence is awesome and creepy. Especially when the kid starts singing the pirate song and they put him on the barrel to hang him.

3. Midget pirate returned!!! I was just expecting him to do a cock-punch like in Scrubs.

4. I liked the journey to the Underworld and how they got back.

5. I loved Chow Yung Fat as Sao Feng. I really liked it when Jack Sparrow was mentioned that his concubines giggled and the look on his face.

6. I liked the use of the East India Trading Company as the bad guys although the guy playing the main bad guy just felt like a waste of space. If you don’t about the East India Trading company, think of them as the Rent A Center of its day. Only two friends will get that joke, but trust me its funny as hell.

7. Jack Sparrow was decent, but now as impressive somehow.

8. I liked the voodoo sea goddess and the nine pieces of eight. All of that felt true storywise.

9. Keith Richards was actually awesome.

10. The deal with the Pirate King and the final battle was awesome. I like that Jack changed things by thinking outside of the box, which his character’s gift.

11. The ending was classic. I didn’t think they had the guts to go that route. It felt epic and mirrored nicely to the main plot.

12. And the map at the end, notice how the Fountain of Youth was placed in Florida; curiously close to where Disneyworld is. 🙂

The Not-So Good Stuff

1. Right now I want there to be a law that states in every movie that Chow Yung Fat is in must include at least one scene in which Chow Yung Fat kicks serious ass. There were minor bits of fighting, but come on! That’s like having Elvis in a movie and not letting him sing.

2. The crazy bits of Jack talking to himself. It was cool the first time and then became annoying and silly. It brought me out of the movie every time and I thought, wow this is lame!

3. Something about the Flying Dutchman seemed off to me. The crew felt a little cartoony.

4. Killing off the Kraken off screen is lame. Like killing off the Death Star between movies. Bad storytelling!!!