Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - Directed by Gore Verbinski
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.

At the release of the first Pirates of the Caribbean, I was hesitant to accept a Disney pirate movie. Being more of a gore-hound myself, I didn't like the idea of the hyper-violent pirate lifestyle being adapted from a theme park ride. But I came to terms that the relatively untouched pirate genre would be catered to big-budget blockbuster audiences and, despite my expectations, Pirates turned out surprisingly well. But after almost 3 years in production, does Disney's ultra-hyped Pirates sequel make the cut?

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and crew must do battle with Davy Jones (one of my personal favorites, Bill Nighy), to whom Sparrow owes his very soul.

Being based off a theme park, its only appropriate Pirates plays out like one. Primarily a showcase for outlandish prop stunts, you'd be hard-pressed to find more thrilling action sequences. The CG effects aren't anything special, but when combined with live action and conventional effects, they create quite the visual feast.

However, the sheer volume of visual effects makes Pirates suffer from Revenge of the Sith-Syndrome--that is to say that after while the brain becomes numb to the action, and you may begin to lose the context of what you're watching.

As far as the cast is concerned, if you liked Depp in the first one then you'll probably like him in the sequel. Though my favorite performance was that of the venerable Bill Nighy as Davy Jones. Although much of his face is hidden behind squid tentacles, his trademark facial expressions are more than apparent.

With a surprisingly elaborate story suffering from only occasional pacing problems and with plenty of fan-favorite characters returning from the original, Dead Man's Chest is pretty much as good a sequel as could have been hoped for. Just don't let the Lord of the Rings or Matrix-esque cliffhanger let you down.

Memorable Scene: A mind-blowing stunt featuring Bloom and Depp running in an old mill wheel like a couple of hamsters.

Pros:
+ Fantastic stunt work
+ Davy Jones and his crew of sea creature-fused cutthroats

Cons:
- Action becomes mind numbing
- Third act drags on

Rating: 4/5