I luved it - bite me

The Fam went out last nite, ate at the Food Court then took in the Budget Matinee showing of Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest. And I completely enjoyed it. We know what to expect now, so the pressure is on to up the ante on the visuals and special effects. This was done with Davey Jones...



his crew, and the attacks of the Kraken...



Exciting sword play is also to be expected and they gave us one big rousing and hilarious spectacle involving not one, but two "three-way" sword fights...



...one of which involved three going at it on a runaway mill wheel and the other involving three fighters with only two swords taking on a dozen crewmembers of the Flying Dutchman - a fight that involved much passing of swords back and forth as the three worked the battle with the baddies.

The plot was full of MacGuffins and twists and turns as to be expected, with the goal of this particular treasure hunt not apparent until well into the movie. Jack Sparrow continues to lie, cheat and steal across the seven seas - hiding his true intentions to the end. Virtually everyone is back from the original...



There seems to be a host of visual references to other films: everything from Time Bandits to Apocalypse Now...



I'm dying to know if these are intentional.

Critics have been unkind - part of that is backlash against its success. Part of that is forgetting that we had no idea what to expect in the first movie and now we do. Part of it is also fair - the plot and execution is a bit clunky, but this is the bridging film from the first to the third. Middle films in trilogies often suffer a bit in the plotting department.



But, if we are to go with Pauline Kael (who I'm sure would have hated this) and agree that movies exist purely as entertainment, then this is a good summer popcorn movie, with a terrific and enjoyable cast, and lots of exciting action and adventure. And anytime the theater is livened by the uncontrollable laughter of young kids, you can't help but enjoy yourself.