WOW! I couldn't believe when that spaceship came and picked up Captain Jack Sparrow, and brought him through a wormhole to modern times, where he ended up at Disney World and went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, thinking it might have been the portal back to his time, and then found that all the treasure in the ride was actually real, and became a billionaire and bought the Walt Disney companies.
Oops...hope I didn't spoil the ending for anyone.
I liked it. I would agree that it can't stand next to #1 - that was simply a brilliant stroke and a fully self-standing entity. While I didn't dislike #2, I also didn't love it - it seemed a tad convoluted and I felt like it tried too hard to cram 'more' of pretty much everything into it.
#3 made some strides towards working out a cohesive storyline...and though very long, and maybe a few action sequences that got a bit busier than they really needed to be (more of the trying too hard again)...I liked it more than #2.
Pasant, you're right - it does help improve the busy-ness and loose ends of #2 into something more complete - the two certainly work together as a single piece. I personally wouldn't have minded seeing the action sequences scaled back just a bit in a few scenes - not as much quick-editing and whiz-bang everything-but-the-kitchen-sink CG - but overall, an entertaining night out, and a fun flick in the spirit of the original!