The best movie of the summer...savvy?

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 2006)

I've seen many great movies this summer: X-Men 3, Cars, Click, Superman Returns...but one of them blows the others clear out of the water (no pun intended). Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is, by far, the ultimate summer movie, being even better than Curse of the Black Pearl.
The movie begins with Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann (played by Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly, respectively) arrested for aiding the roguish Jack Sparrow (the ingenious Johnny Depp) in acts of piracy. Meanwhile, Jack is reminded of his debt to the ghostly Davey Jones (voiced by Bill Nighly). In order to save himself from Davey's locker, Jack must find the key to the Dead Man's Chest and steal its contents.
The movie is highly action-packed and introduces many great characters, along with bringing back some old favorites (Pintel and Ragetti returning for some amazing comic relief). The special effects are top-notch and Davey Jones, though completely CGI, looks 100% real and still sends shivers down one's timbers. Kevin McNally does another remarkable job as pirate Gibbs, having a slightly larger part in this movie. A nice addition to the cast is the somewhat freaky-looking Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), who shares a humorous scene with Jack involving an undead monkey and a jar of dirt. Classic! The story never seemed rushed and was never dull at any point. Johnny Depp is as amazing as ever. People actually applauded in the theatre when he appeared on screen in his hilarious introduction. Orlando Bloom definitely seemed to have taken some acting lessons or something because his performance in this movie was a lot better than the first. Kiera Knightly is, of course, as beautiful as ever, but that doesn't mean that she can't kick a little pirate booty. Norrington makes another appearance and, man, were people shocked to see him and hiscondition. Sadly, Cutler Beckett and Bootstrap Bill Turner are supposed to be important characters, you never feel a strong attachment with them. Maybe if they got more screen time? One of the best scenes involves Will, Jack, Elizabeth, Norrington, Pintel, Ragetti, and Davey's phantom army fighting for the Dead Man's Chest. It was probably the best scene in the movie.
And then, there's the ending. The last ten minutes had everyone in the theatre on the edge of their seats, and the last ten seconds left everyone breathless and crying out for more. The great thing about this movie is, no matter how long it is, you never seem to want enough. That's what makes a great movie.
Phenomenal acting, a great story, and a cliff-hanging plot-twist that makes Pirate-fan's hearts skipping, this movie promises to be this summer's biggest blockbustersavvy?