Everyone loves Pirates

I have a confession to make. As a child, Pirates of the Caribbean was my favorite Walt Disney ride. The animatronic pirates were a swarthy and rum-soaked lot who drank, wenched and sang raucously from every stretch of sand and plank. Though the spectacle was arranged with tongue-in-cheek wit, a somber mood of grim piracy pervaded everything. There was cannon smoke in the air, the chill damp of sea caves and the flickering of prison torches. I walked away chewing on gunpowder grit and happily brandished my souvenir pistol all the rest of the day.\n"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" revived that feeling of childhood wonder and more. The movie drips with the briny atmosphere of the original ride. In the footsteps of its predecessor, "Dead Man's Chest" infuses new vitality into the once sagging genre of pirate films and swashbuckling adventure. It is summer blockbuster escapism at its best, a big-budget fusion of the buccaneering antics of Captain Blood and the seadog comedy of Captain Ron.\nIt's one hell of a franchise at that. The local theater sold out on opening day to an eager audience, some decked out in full pirate regalia. And "Dead Man's Chest" delivered. Like a homecoming for old friends, nearly every character from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" was present, along with inside jokes and continuing shticks.\nThe story picks up where "Curse of the Black Pearl" left off. Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner are about to be wed, but are torn apart by unfortunate circumstances. Meanwhile, Captain Jack Sparrow has run afoul of the legendary Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman. Once a man, Jones has become a chthonic beast of the sea. His crew and ship are likewise infused with the monstrous attributes of the creatures of the deep. They also have at their bidding the mythical kraken -- a monstrous, ship-devouring squid. As would be expected, Sparrow must retrieve the contents of Davy Jones' famed locker, the titular dead man's chest, to save himself from an eternity of servitude.\n"Dead Man's Chest" is not a movie for people who get bored of swordfights and piratey clichés. Two and a half hours of seagoing cinema may test your bladder's mettle. There's not much to the movie once you take away the action and the special effects. Yet, pirate cinema has never been about social commentary or brooding plot structure. It's about exploits and wish-fulfillment. It's about childhood dreams of freedom and blowing stuff up with cannons. Do we really need an extended swordfight scene played out inside a giant rolling waterwheel? Aye matey, we do!\nPerhaps the greatest disappointment in store for audiences is that "Dead Man's Chest" is an episode in a saga rather than a complete movie in and of itself. The movie ends abruptly, leaving all of its many plot points resolvable only with the future purchase of another ticket. Still, I doubt that will be much of a deterrent for movie-goers who've already fitted their hook hand and peg leg. Leave your eye patch at home. This sequel is worth watching.