Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Details on IMDB.

There is a plot outline on IMDB, read it if you must, but the plot is not the main reason for seeing this file. The story is darker than the first, but nevertheless great fun and very funny - people were laughing loudly in a very packed cinema. We had to see the second showing after the one we intended to - it's so popular. Worth the wait - YES!

Johnny Depp is now really good at this character - the way he walks, talks, and 'over-acts' as Captain Jack Sparrow is brilliant. There are some excellent 'cartoon' jokes - Jack tied to a pole, and escaping is worth seeing again and again. There are no lines to match "not impossible - just improbable", but the there are plenty of complex statements for our Captain as he lies and cheats and runs away, all to a good ending. Its fast paced fun almost all the way through as each of the characters pursues his or her own aim, with the compass coming to their aid when they're not sure what they really want. Don't expect any surprises there, if you saw the last one the personal relationships will be no surprise at all.

There are some impressive special effects too, the wheel being the most obviously impressive. The black pearl, moored on the beach did actually look real, so if that was blue screen it really was VERY well done. Davy Jones and his crew are also impressive, as is their ship, but I can't believe enough water was displaced when is goes under. Watch that scene carefully and see if you agree.

So to the actors - Johnny Depp easily gets a brilliant, as you will have already guessed. Was Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) wooden - no, but perhaps a little too earnest. Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann) was at her best when pretending to be a boy on the ship, as 'love interest' she was just a bit too obvious. Jack Davenport (Norrington) - belligerent, dark, and evil - but too small a part really. Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), suitably over dressed and somewhat understated, straying into the realms of a Dr Who monster - should have been scary but never quite made it.

Excellent - go see...

Oh nearly forgot the cliff hanger - but no more on that!