Captain Jack will get you high tonite (indeed!) ; fun and action-saturated sequel popcorn blockbuster

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2006)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006) ***1/2 Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Kevin McNally, David Bailie, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hollander, Naomie Harris, Martin Klebba, (Cameo: Geoffrey Rush) Splendid action-packed yet lengthy sequel to the surprise blockbuster smash based on the Disney attraction with feckless Captain Jack Sparrow (the always inspired Depp perfecting his slapsticky creation) 're-united' with lovers- in-peril Will Turner (Bloom, becoming his generation's Errol Flynn) and Elizabeth Swan (the beguilingly feisty Knightley) involving the accursed pact he has with the notoriously dead Davy Jones (Nighy barely recognizable under some serious CGI) who has a vendetta with our heroes involving a buried treasure, Jones' monstrous shipmates, 'pet' Kraken - a giant octopus-like sea monster, and a tribe of hungry cannibals. Gleefully over-the-top, over-wrought and non-stop fun despite the seeming retread of Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio's fun script and no-holds-barred brisk direction by Gore Verbinski (all reprising their creative roles again) with a decidedly darker brio for the forthcoming chapter in the proposed trilogy (or more) to come.