Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Where: Theaters everywhere.

When: Opens today.

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.

Running time: 150 minutes.

Bottom line: The ride is a little more rickety the second time around.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" proves that no matter how fun a thrill ride is, it's never quite as much fun the second time around. You know where the turns are, how steep the rollercoaster goes, and when the monsters will jump out at you.

In other words, if you liked "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" three years ago, you'll probably like this new installment - but you may not get quite the same thrill as before.

The movie begins with the thwarted wedding of the first movie's young lovers, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). The two are arrested, on orders of the nasty Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East India Trading Co., and threatened with the gallows for helping that pirate, Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

Where is Jack? Back with his old ship, The Black Pearl, but something has definitely knocked the wind out of his sails. He isn't plundering like he used to, and is keeping the Pearl out of open sea. Then Jack gets a visit from a ghost, Will's cursed father "Bootstrap" Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgard), who warns that Davy Jones (played by Bill Nighy, his face morphed by makeup and computers into a slimy squid) is looking to collect a debt: Jack's soul.

Eventually, but not soon enough in this overlong opening, the principals reunite for the requisite swordfights, cannon blasts, supernatural touches and monster battles that director Gore Verbinski can muster. The script (again by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) doesn't take it self at all seriously, and the set pieces - like a three-way swordfight between Jack, Will and Elizabeth's spurned ex-fiancee Norrington (Jack Davenport) - are cleverly staged and exciting.

If only the actors looked as if they were enjoying themselves. Bloom and Knightley act as if they are going through the motions, Nighy and Skarsgard seem limited by their prosthetics, and even Depp's devil-may-care portrayal of Captain Jack has a calculated quality. The one fresh performance is from a newcomer, Naomie Harris ("28 Days Later") as the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" suffers, too, from being the middle part of the trilogy (think "Back to the Future 2" or "The Matrix Reloaded") without a beginning or an ending. The movie sets us up for the third installment, already filmed and set to open next summer. Maybe then we can find out if the thrill ride has any thrills left in it.