The Curse Of The Black Pearl has amassed a fortune of over 600 million world wide since its release in 2003.  Nominated for five Academy Awards and winning none, the film has set a high standard for its sequel and yet still left some ground to be conquered.  With Gore Verbinski (The Mexican) in the director's chair again and everyone from the first film that anyone could want to see, Dead Man's Chest has all the potential of the first film and more; a bigger budget and greater media interest.  However, will these factors turn out to be a blessing or the second and most deadly curse that the Black Pearl will have to suffer?. 

I saw this film about five minutes after I saw Superman and I really needed it to be entertaining and fast paced.  (You can take that comment as to the quality of the superhero flick very literally.)  I was not disappointed.  To be honest, I don't really remember many of the details of the first film, I liked it but didn't pay it much attention and having seen the second I find myself desiring to catch up on the first.  The performances were exactly what I wanted.  Johnny Depp was as camp as ever and there was enough ham from Orlando Bloom to feed a viking army.  In his defence, he did have some tough material to cope with.  Particularly a somewhat out of character naval disciplinary scene  I liked that though because it added to a sense of pantomime drama and kept everything light hearted which, as I came to discover, was most necessary.  Surprisingly enough it was Keira Knightly as Elizabeth who added the emotional depth of performance, showing some genuine inner turmoil over the nature of and motivations behind her actions and the feelings of her heart.  Jonathon Pryce also gave some integral support to the proceedings. 

The most interesting feature of the film is by far the plot.  At first I thought that it was lacking a plot and now I thought this because there were actually three or four plots strung together in an intricate web of hap-hazard deceit, treachery and swash buckling stupidity.  You are never allowed to feel settled.  There is always another chance accident or mistake that turns all the proceedings onto their heads.  In fact, the sequences were so far beyond the point of ridiculous that they must have been deliberately and ingeniously so.  It gets so stupid that it kind of loops back round to painfully clever and some of the sequences were breathtakingly choreographed.  I do think though, that as I previously stated, you have to go in with no attachment to your sanity and be prepared to just go wherever the film takes you without resisting because, if you're anything like me, it will stretch the boundaries of what you are and are not prepared to take in.  Just relax and enjoy it and you won't be disappointed.  A word of warning though, don't expect this to be a trilogy.  It is a film with a "two part sequel."  Expect anything else and you will hate the ending.