One very very long follow-on.

Rating: 4/10 (6 August 2006)

This film is an excellent example of a work that could have been trimmed down substantially to make a final product that would be much more enjoyable. It obviously cost a fortune to make, and it's more than apparent that a lot of talent was used to facet every face of it. But uncut, it sags under its own weight, and I found myself wondering how long the seemingly endless scenes would drag on. The groaning, weighty musical score does not help out at all here. The cannibal sequence could have been either trimmed greatly, or eliminated in its entirety, and so many scenes could have been shortened to advance the pacing. For example, the "Tia Dalma" character commands your attention, but does her unintelligible voodoo-princess spiel have to go on and on and on? One shudders to think what a "director's cut DVD" version of this film project might include. Could there possibly exist any deleted scenes? Whereas Jack Sparrow thoroughly entertained me in the first film, Mr. Depp's character pops around his scenes in "Dead Man's Chest" like "Mario" in an old Nintendo game. It seems like his talents are greatly encouraged, but never actually given the proper showcase to light up the screen. Mr. Bloom's performances also seem even more strangely relegated to the background, while any character (Davy Jones in particular) that is the result of intense special effects gets A LOT of focus. To my mind, this is just an abuse of special effects in this series. I found myself longing for the days when special effects were used to highlight, illuminate, and intensify an already exciting presentation. To be fair - let me state that, in general, I find that I have stopped going to movies that receive great press for "special effects". I used to really enjoy brilliant special effects, but I've come to prefer blockbusters that showcase the acting skills of the lead actors above all else. In this regard, Ms. Knightley's performance does not disappoint. It seems as though she is given, and takes good advantage of every opportunity to project the vibrant qualities of winsome "pluck" into every scene in which she appears. As such, for me her performance was perhaps the strongest amongst the heroes in the film. This was not nearly enough to save the movie-going experience for me, and I left feeling very tired, worn, and somewhat numb. No balm for said numbness comes from the fact that the esteemed viewer will leave the theater with no real plot resolution to speak of. The only thing missing here is a promotional sequence showing the trailer from the next movie to come (a la "Back to the Future II), which one suspects may have been filmed at the same time and is now wallowing its way through post production. I suppose it would be too much to ask that they make the final cut for "part 3" much briefer, and brighten up the score with a lively ditty or two.