Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Now this has to be the best movie of the summer thus far! It's non-stop fun from start to finish; filled with narrow escapes, nasty looking villains, romance, sword fights, sea monsters and of course Captain Jack Sparrow, who is probably one of the top 10 best film characters ever conceived. All the actors put in their best effort, but they just pale in comparison to the foppish pirate. The SFX are amazingly realistic looking, especially Davy Jones. Not looking like a computer effect at all, his facial tentacles look like prosthetics placed on Bill Nighy which helps to sell the illusion all the more. Although it slows down here and there in the middle, it's pretty much a thrill a minute with great twists and turns, heading toward a dark conclusion that I wasn't expecting. Characters end up doing things that you normally wouldn't expect them to (Elizabeth in particular) and it ends on a downer, but the final shot is one hell of a baffling cliffhanger that I cant wait to see resolved in part 3 which comes out next summer! This is The Empire Strikes Back of the Pirates trilogy!

4.5 out of 5


*written 7/23/06