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(Photo © Walt Disney Pictures, all rights reserved.)
SIXTEEN MEN ON A DEAD MAN'S CHEST: Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) has finally found the chest he has been searching for and will find a something inside vastly different than a treasure trove of gold and jewels. |
If you liked Pirates of the Caribbean, you'll enjoy the latest installment as much as you enjoyed the original. After all, Johnny Depp and the rest of the principal cast have returned, along with director Gore Verbinski; scriptwriters Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, and Jay Wolpert; cinematographer Darius Wolski; costume designer Penny Rose; Editors Craig Wood and Stephen Rivkin; visual effects supervisor John Knoll; stunt coordinator George Marshall Ruge; makeup artist Ve Neill; hair stylist Martin Samuel; and most of the rest of the original off-screen team.
Pirates 2, as a sequel, is visually almost indistinguishable from the first film. Captain Jack Sparrow may have added a few new tics to his eccentric assortment of facial mannerisms, and the special effects are more spectacular, however, the movie, like the first, is a tale of intrigue, romance, and horror.
One of the film's objectives is to prepare the audience for the finale, a situation that is common to the second movie in many trilogies. This is a tad frustrating because the movie ends on a cliffhanger in order to ensure that you will see the final installment.
But to be honest, I had no complaints prior to that development because I found myself caught up in the multi-layered mystery which picks up where the first one left off. At the point of departure, we find Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) putting their wedding plans on hold because they have been arrested and sentenced to be executed for aiding and abetting Captain Jack's escape.
The couple is granted a reprieve provided Will tracks down Jack and returns with the elusive Captain's magical compass. What ensues is a special effects extravaganza during which our heroes encounter wave after wave of creatures such as cannibals, zombies, slaves, ghosts, a headless hermit crab man, squid-faced Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), and a hammerheaded shark man.
However, despite all the eye-popping distractions, Pirates 2 remains a Johnny Depp vehicle, in which he steals every scene in his own inimitable fashion.
Excellent (3 and ½ stars). Rated PG-13 for frightening images and intense adventure violence. Running time: 150 minutes. Studio: Walt Disney.
For more movie summaries, see Kam's Kapsules.