In "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is dispatched to steal Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) mystical compass, which is believed to lead to the chest containing the soul of Davy Jones. And Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) stows away as a man aboard Sparrow's ship to find fiance Will, who's presumed lost. When she becomes suddenly, instantly attracted to Sparrow, there seems to be no rhyme or reason except the obvious: The two most beautiful marquee names in the film clearly must kiss. It's the money shot.

In the major plot theme, it seems Sparrow owes a blood debt to the octopus-headed Jones (Bill Nighy), and if he reneges, he'll forever be Jones's deck slave. This story element at least engenders the movie's most entertaining feature: its computer-generated creations. There is a creepy pleasure in the shipload of spectral, grotesque pirates who loom out of the depths to haunt Sparrow's scheming soul, especially the aforementioned Mr. Jones, whose facial tentacles have sucker-studded lives of their own. Or you can marvel and chuckle at the Terry Gilliam-like visual comedy as a clutch of Sparrow's shipmates -- trussed in a suspended net made of bone and hide -- swing their prison back and forth to traverse a deep chasm to safety.

Just don't look for the collision of innocence and danger that made the first film so provocative. Depp is still the lovable rascal with frilly sleeves, scheming eyes and fey mien. But the encore feels forced and hollow -- a repeat performance that's too self-consciously delivered to be charming anymore.

What do we want in a sequel? Just a little taste of the original or a triple serving piled high? "Dead Man's Chest" opts for the latter. This Disney movie isn't a follow-up to the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" so much as its empty-calorie clone.

-- Desson Thomson (July 7, 2006)

Contains intense adventure violence, including frightening images.