i wasn't sure whether the film would be any good before i watched it so i rented it.
It's not bad at all, it's got the swordplay the usual quips from before and a few very interesting scenes in it. A bit of double crossing but there isn't a spark really, the invented jacks "lost lover" seems a bit thin for an introduction but she's okay as a character.
It doesn't seem to build upon or try to make anything new as such, not as dramatic as the last film but the removal of keira knightly and orlando bloom is welcome they were pretty poor actors even if they did the usual dull disney love thing.
The bizare side love story between the priest and the mermaid doesn't seem to fit, it's either too big a development for a film which is already focused or it isn't fleshed out enough to make it interesting as it is.
Otherwise it's perfectly on par with the quality of the previous pirates of caribbean, nothing particularly bad.
I think it would have played better as a cartoon in some respects and disney don't really seem to grasp that cartoon-like films don't fit "real life" filming.