I appear to be the only one who was not that enamored of the first Pirates. I thought that it was decent popcorn chomping, but little else. Then again, I though the same thing about Steven Summers's The Mummy. I don't think them bad films, simply mediocre. Critics are always tricky. On hand, there's the "lighten up, it's just an action flick attitude." On the other hand, Star Wars, Aliens, The Terminator, The Wild Bunch, The Empire Strikes Back, Seven Samurai, Face/Off, The Road Warrior, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Return of the Jedi, Jaws, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saving Private Ryan, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Fort Apache, The Searchers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Winchester '73, X-Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 3:10 to Yuma, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Spider-Man, X2, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Spider-Man 2, Superman: The Movie, King Kong, Superman II, and Foreign Correspondent, to name a few films all offer up plenty of action without insulting your intelligence and often offer up far, far more than sound and fury. Of course, after a hard day at work, sometimes I just want to kick back and watch The Lost World: Jurassic Park or Blade II rather than a Bergman film, with some sugary candy to chew on. So, both side have merit. I saw Superman Returns the other day, by the way, and whatever flaws it may have it is well worth seeing, if only for Spacey.