Giggles of all kinds

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2006)

Okay. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is fun. Lots of fun.
It's a long movie. At least 2 hours. It feels long but it doesn't drag. This is the main difference between this Pirates movie and the last one, The Curse of the Black Pearl. Black Pearl was becalmed in the waters of excitement by the end; Dead Man's Chest does whatever the opposite sailing analogy of 'becalmed' is.
It is a British movie. The cast is lots of fun and all the supporting players are talented. British actors everywhere. One actor who is not British is Stellan Skarsgård. He is superb. He's always superb, he's a great actor. Jack Davenport brings the humour and coolness that Coupling fans expect. Orlando Bloom is less underwhelming than in his last Pirates appearance. This seems to be partly from being given less dialogue and partly from improvement in his acting. Keira Knightley is also good.
The two main actors are Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy. Depp had everyone in the theatre laughing and Nighy is so good as the voice of (and presumably the CGI model for) Davy Jones that he isn't recognisable. Davy Jones is all you see and he seems very alive and convincing.
Speaking of Davy Jones, the special effects in this movie are good. They are not completely realistic but they are less comical and obvious than the effects in the last Pirates movie, even when the effects are trying to be comical and obvious.
The music is clichéd and stale but it would be weird to have genuinely moving music in such a silly movie.
The movie is absurd. Just like the last Pirates movie there is all kinds of comical action. It is very amusing.
This movie is worth seeing. The entire movie is fun. A packed theatre suits the movie well.