sweinberg was right

[yendi]

Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest? Damned fun. You know how the first movie was a perfectly fun popcorn movie, full of good actors hamming it up, great action sequences, and lots of humor, but not attempting to be anything more than that? Well, shockingly (especially to critics who are clearly upset that this isn't The Tempest), this is a perfectly fun popcorn sequel, full of good actors hamming it up, great action sequences, and lots of humor, but not attempting to be anything more than that. Yes, it does leave a cliffhanger in place for the third movie, but this is more Empire Strikes Back in tone (offering a complete and fun story) than, say, Back to the Future 2 (offering to take your wallet without even so much as a handjob).

Yes, there's an after-the-credits moment, although it turned out to be exactly what I'd expected. And the ending of the movie proper (which I can't talk about, as it's spoilertastic) was genuinely something I didn't see coming (and which basically guaranteed that the one I didn't like about this film won't be a problem in the next movie).

And the penultimate action sequence -- a ten-minute pair of running swordfights on an island -- is about as enjoyable as anything I've head the pleasure to watch. The essence of popcorn.

Overall, I'm damned pleased.