It’s out. It broke all records, and everyone’s seeing it. Critics are mixed, but is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest really all that? Okay, I won’t even pretend for a second that there was even a slight chance that I wouldn’t love this movie with all my movie heart. There’s two things in this world that can make a great movie: Pirates and Zombies. And Dead Man’s Chest hits the pirates thing so hard on the head that it has to die and regrow a new head to come back again. Anyway, what I’m getting at is that the movie is good. Very Good. So good, I had to see it two times before I could even talk about it. I’m talking 5 out of 5, instant all-time classic good.

Pirates, More Pirates, Pirates at sea, and even Pirates under the sea
The movie’s got pirates. It’s got daring pirates. It’s got small pirates. It’s got pirates with birds. It’s even got half-dead, damned sea creature pirates. Okay, the last movie had pirates, but this one’s got more pirates. And it’s not so much that you get more pirates, but that you get to see pirates in their element and in every other element. You get a deep look into what a pirate really is (something like a bottle of rum and a barrel of fun).

There’s Depth Too
The fun sucks you in, but it’s the depth that drowns you. Characters like Will and Elizabeth that were really quite one-dimentional in the first movie spring to life in this one. They become multi-faceted and show, well, character. Even characters from the first that had tons of depth like Norrington and Gibbs reapear and show even more depth. Even Jack Sparrow is presented with more light. He’s sadder and more desparate than the last film, although you shouldn’t expect the role of Jack to steal the show this time. In fact, I found that everytime Norrington was on screen, he was stealing the show. His character was so dynamic that I gave myself tiny high fives anytime he opened his mouth.

The Little Details
The tiny details in this movie made me curl up in a ball and kick my feet high above the theater’s seat (much to the distress of those sitting around me). From the fireflies floating outside of the voodoo hut at the end of the river to the massive size of the beached Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest’s details slapped me around like a monkey handler in a running circus. From the first moment that Jack blasts his way onto screen until the very last, heartfelt “Aye,” tiny details gang together and give this movie unstoppable momentum. Honestly, I think I have to see it a third time just to feel satisfied.

Should you go see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest? Yes, at least twice and once on a weekday. In fact, while my third viewing will be to watch for details, I want go back and see it a fourth time just to say I saw it drunk on rum. I wouldn’t advise being drunk on rum the first three times you see it. To sum up the movie and my feelings in one word: Awesome.

Oh, and stay after the credits for another hat-tipper.