Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Saying anything, good or bad, about this mostly very enjoyable sequel is like trying to pick on the most popular kid in school: Noone's going to listen, and you know in your heart everyone's right anyway.

Packing in more action and almost as much fun as its predecessor, Pirates 2 is everything a summer popcorn movie should be, very pretty people doing very crazy things just for our entertainment.

What story there is is definitely secondary to the spectacular effects. In it, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and longtime love Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) are planning their wedding, but they're disrupted by lawman Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who has charged them with aiding the escape of a known criminal, Capt Jack Sparrow, of course.

In order to gain their freedom, Will must track down his old buddy to obtain a certain object that is in Jack's possession. At the same time, Jack and the crew of the Black Pearl are fleeing from the legendary Flying Dutchman and its evil skipper, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). As it turns out, Jack made a devil's deal to receive his captaincy, and now the supernatural-powered Jones wants to collect his "payment."

It's all great stuff that director Gore Verbinski almost manages to weave into a coherent story line. My favorite action sequence was a death- and logic-defying sword duel atop a mill wheel, but there are plenty to choose from.

And of course,like the first Pirates movie, this one is all about Johnny Depp's manic performance as Capt. Jack Sparrow. I kept waiting for him to reach that moment of saturation, like Bart Simpson's "I didn't do it" character on the "Krusty the Clown" show, but for me at least, it hasn't come yet. Whether he can keep it up through a third - and apparently fourth - Pirates movie remains to be seen, but you can't make me bet against him. La Bella Keira and Mr. Bloom hold their own, but this is all about Johnny.

My only quibble with Pirates 2 was that, at 2 1/2 hours, it's awfully long for a summer flick. This is, after all, a movie based on an amusement park ride. Like a ride, it should be short, fast and sweet. But I was rarely bored in Pirates 2, mostly because it often moved at a manic pace.

I haven't quite managed to erase the foul taste of "X-Men: The Last Stand" from my mouth, but with this making four consecutive mostly great flicks (after "Superman Returns," "Nacho Libre" and "Cars"), this summer is starting to get its shimmer back for me.