movie news : Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

THE STORY: Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) and Will Turner (Johnny Depp) are arrested on their wedding day for releasing the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the first “Pirates” film;, So, they must find Sparrow if they want to secure freedom for themselves and Sparrow, too ... or, something.

PIRATE TRUTH: The plot of this movie is about as convincing as the plot from the first movie, but in a series of films with a heck of a lot of undead pirates, believability isn’t exactly paramount. These films serve up exactly what they promise: extremely attractive people, amazing swordfights, some worth-watching special effects, and a little bit of Depp hilarity.

What more could you want from a mindless summer flick?

What worked quite well in the first film was that the special effect of the walking skeletons was used only as a temporary fright, making them all the more interesting. Some might consider it a drawback that in this installment, the villains — the legendary Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and the monstrous crew of “The Flying Dutchman” — dominate a huge chunk of screen time. But if, like me, you are at all impressed by a perfect binding of unbelievable makeup arts and flawless special effects, you won’t be able to peel your eyes away from them.

THE BOTTOM LINE: If “Dead Man’s Chest” had pre-dated “The Curse of the Black Pearl,” the whole “Pirates” cult following and obsession probably wouldn’t have reached the magnitude that it’s at today. However, this incredibly amusing sequel -- with it’s wickedly wonderful, cliff-hanger ending -- will be sure to fill theaters for next year’s release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

-- Jody Goldberg, Los Gatos High