The key that made the first pirates film work was the dynamic of the trio of characters at the center. Will and Elizabeth are ‘aware’ of the type of movie they’re starring in and hit all the proper beats that the hero and heroine are supposed to in an adventure story like this. Jack, on the other hand, is unaware of the narrative that surrounds him and instead engages with the movie that he thinks he’s starring in within his own head. It’s as though Sparrow has read a completely different script than the other characters and marches through with complete self-confidence playing out the storyline he believes he’s engaging in. Sparrow is the rockstar who is completely aloof to the establishment and its rules, including the storyline of the movie itself. At the end of the previous film when Sparrow remarks to Elizabeth “It never would’ve worked between us darling”, the comedy arises from the fact that Elizabeth truly thinks Sparrow is a lowlife and the thought of being attracted to him never crossed her mind. For the heroine character in this type of story to be attracted to a side character like Sparrow is patently ridiculous and beneath her station, she is attracted to Will as the script’s classic virtuous hero character and admires his valor. The second film attempts to do away with this key element of the premise entirely, instead rewriting Elizabeth to be pirate-curious, Will as the lame “nice guy”, and Sparrow as the sexy “bad boy”, and the film loses much of the charm in the process.