Movie review time

The second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Man’s Chest, is out in theaters and is a resounding success, breaking all kinds of box office records. Whether it’s a true success as a movie depends on the criteria you’re using for such a characterization. If you’re comparing it to the rest of the summer movie offerings, then yes, it’s phenomenal and the best value for your money at the theater (if there is such a thing with the exorbitant ticket prices nowadays). But if you hold it up to the standard set by the first movie in the series, originally released in 2003, then the second installment comes up lacking.

Dead Man’s Chest begins with a simple enough premise. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are to be married. Their wedding is sidetracked, though, and what ensues is a plot as convoluted and confusing as the latest installment of the U.S. tax code. While the visual effects, humor and action are there, the storyline(s) meander and intertwine, then separate, do a little Chinese fire drill action, spinning around in circles and have you saying “Huh?” on more than one occasion.

In the initial Pirates film, there was continuity, direction and a cohesive picture working throughout. In the sequel, producer Jerry Bruckheimer lets the train come off of the tracks a bit, although not to the point of complete disaster. If you were watching the second installment without ever having seen or heard about the first one, you’d come away satisfied. But when the bar was set so high the first time around, the raised expectations are a reality the director and producers have to deal with.

The third picture in the series is already in the can, set to be released next year. Let’s hope that Dead Man’s Chest was merely an aberration, a slight loss of focus by director, producer and crew. One thing you can be sure of is that Johnny Depp will be spectacular, charming and ornery in his role as Captain Jack Sparrow, Keira Knightley will still be scorching hot and the action will be wall to wall. The rest is up in the air, but doesn’t that add to the thrill?