Last night I went to see Pirates of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest. And I must say, it was just about everything a summer blockbuster should be. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first Pirates movie, it’s comes pretty close to capturing the feel and magic.

Dead Man’s Chest biggest problems were a few minor consistency and plot issues, a scene or two that tends to drag, and your typical leave-you-hanging middle film ending (That’s right, there will be a Pirates Of The Caribbean 3). Aside from those minor issues, it’s amazingly fun the whole way through.

Dead Man’s Chest does a great job of taking the lore and characters of the first film and weaving them into a brand new tale, while at the same time tying it closely to the first movie. And I love the little nods to the attraction at Disney’s Theme Parks.

It’s a bit darker than the first, but not without loads of humor. Depp is great and gets better as the film goes on, although it felt like he didn’t have many lines in this film. Bloom and Knightly are good and most of the secondary characters are terrific. I really enjoyed Jack Davenport as Mr. Norrington and was thrilled to see he was still a large part of the movie. Naomie Harris as the Gypsy Queen is great as well. But my favorite performance, hands down, goes to Bill Nighy as Davy Jones. Oooh, it’s a good one.

Speaking of Davy Jones, the special effects and character costumes/effects in Dead Man’s Chest was what really made the film for me. Every second of film with Davy Jones is amazing. In fact, Davy Jones and the crew of The Flying Dutchman could very well be part of the best special effects I’ve ever seen. What made it so great was their ability to blend the effects with the performances of the actors. Davy Jones was especially convincing in a very creepy, slimy, slippery way.

The film also has a nicely done flash website you should check out. And if you like, you can also download a remixed version of the soundtrack from iTunes.