It appears they are getting more carried away with their special effects. Look at the first Pirates. It had a good story line that was simple to follow, with of course, plenty of humor. The second got a little carried away with the special effects and the time of the film definitely was longer. The third, well, it speaks for itself... 3 HOURS?!? The storyline was not thought out well, the film was not that easy to follow, and it appears the director wanted to make the film more of a special effects show than to actually make the story line stick.
Although I must admit, the midget flying backwards after firing that bazooka was quite hilarious!