Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

We've been aching to go and see this follow up to the highly successful first installment, The Curse Of The Black Pearl, but the weather has been just too good lately. I mean, who wants to go and sit in a dark and steamy cinema when it's sunny out?

Anyway, the weather cooled down enough to make a foray out to the local multiplex worth a shot but we waited until late evening just in case. So, armed with a couple of tubs of Moose Tracks ice cream (just to keep us cool okay), we entered the darkness. Here's a short summary of the plot…

When the first movie ended, Barbossa and his band of undead pirates were defeated and Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) escaped the hangman's noose. That left Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) with thoughts of romance and marriage.

Now, just when Will and Elizabeth are to be married, they're arrested by the villainous Lord Cutler-Beckett for helping Jack escape and now face the death penalty themselves. Jack, on the other hand, has a bigger problem. Years ago, he made a deal with the legendary Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman, to raise the Black Pearl. Now Jones is calling in the debt and expects Jack to make good on his promise of the servitude of his soul on the Dutchman. So Jack's been marked with the Black Spot and Jones has released the Kraken, an enormous underwater monster, to track him down.

However, Cutler-Beckett's real motive for arresting the couple soon becomes clear. He wants Jack's magic compass, the one that always points to what you really, really want. If he gets that, then he can locate Davy Jones' Locker, the Dead Man's Chest, as it contains the means to control Jones, the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken. With such a power on the high seas, then his East India Trading Company can control the trade routes and make a fortune.

Will is offered the chance to find Jack and get the compass in order to save Elizabeth from the gallows, unaware the Jack is also after the Dead Man's Chest or at least the key to it, which is held close by Davy Jones himself. So, can Will get the compass from Jack and save Elizabeth and can Jack get the key to the chest and save himself or will all three end up in a watery grave?

As sequels go, this doesn't trade on the success of its predecessor for plain old Hollywood greed but it is in fact an absolute cracker. Depp is in excellent form again as "Captain" Jack Sparrow and I think this movie was even funnier than the first. There are just so many comic scenes in there, we were rolling around in tears most of the time. Okay, it's a bit predictable but that's part of the fun and when the action starts it hardly stops. There's a scene where Will and Norrington are swordfighting on top of a rolling mill wheel as it trundles through the undergrowth while Jack is inside it, running like a hamster and trying to catch the key - sorry the tears are starting again just thinking about it. Then there the bit where they're tied up in a ball of bones and trying to climb a cliff face - no stop it, I can't go on.

But seriously, if you liked The Curse Of The Black Pearl, then this is a must see - you won't be disappointed!

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror.
My Rating: 9/10