> going for a fantasy epic along the lines of Return of the Jedi
So, like Return of the Sith? With an equally crap outcome, and no Yoda?

I wouldn't say it's like Revenge of the Sith because in Pirates 3 the characters' actions at least make some kind of sense, as opposed to "I have to join Palpatine to save the Republic from itself! Therefore, I must kill these children."

"any future Pirates endeavour is inevitably going to focus on Jack Sparrow, completing the appalling development of Sparrow from supporting character to main protagonist which has been slowing happening during the sequels.

Listen up, people. Jack was fun in the first Pirates movie precisely because he was a supporting character who stole the show. The filmmakers have made a serious mistake by changing this dynamic in the sequels."

You are so right. SO many characters that i loved have been ruined like this - did the same with Gene Hunt. Life on Mars he was great because he spend most of his time snarling from the sidelines and not in Ashes to Ashes when he's gone all leading man, he really isn't half as good. Jack was great in the first Pirates because it almost seemed like he was wandering in and out of the whole sequence of events by accident and thats partly what made him so appealing.