$15.50 well spent

"Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" is not without its faults. There's some clumsy backtracking in the third act. The ending's an unsatisfying jolt a la "Matrix Reloaded". And I noted two famous lines the scriptwriters had plundered (one from Douglas Adams), so there may well be more.

But that's it - that's the worst I can say about what amounts to an extremely enjoyable film.

The handsome cast ham it up for all they're worth, with Tom Hollander (Guy Burgess in the miniseries "Cambridge Spies") and Naomie Harris (the most bewitching witch since Tilda Swinton's Jadis) proving scene stealers. There's more eye candy than you can eat in one viewing - Davy Jones and his monster crew are wonderous in their detail and, as far as I'm concerned, that Kraken is real. It's also impossible not to laugh at least a few times. The extended swordfight sequence is preposterous fun and, basically, so's the rest of the movie.

I didn't see "Curse Of The Black Pearl" till a friend lent me the DVD and I put off "Dead Man's Chest" till late in its cinema run. But there's now a good chance I'll be there on opening night for "Pirates Of The Caribbean 3".