not the best outing

Rating: 5/10 (19 July 2006)

For the last year, box office analysts have been asking whether the popularity of movies was in decline, and America answered them with a resounding no by packing the movie houses in droves this past weekend and breaking a box office record. If only they had picked a better movie. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest isn't as bad as a film could possibly be considering that it's the same great characters and setting as the original but it's close. The film brings back the old gang of characters but pairs them with and far more memorable and gruesome villain in Davy Jones. The octopus-like villain is played by Bill Nighy with a lot of help from CGI. The plot centers around everyone trying to find a chest with the heart of Davy Jones but I had very little idea why.
To say that the film is confusing is an understatement. Put it this way: if Pirates of the Caribbean was a course, I would not pass the final exam, and even though the plot isn't necessary to enjoy the good-spirited swashbuckling fun, it certainly would have helped. When the movie isn't being dragged down by the plot, however, there are a couple of amazingly innovative action scenes that almost makes you want to forgive the confusion. One involves Johnny Depp, displaying a comic physicality that could rival Charlie Chaplain, running away from a tribe of cannibals. It is hard to understate how brilliant Depp is in these films and how much he brings to the series. The other involves a three-way swordfight and a waterwheel gone awry.