All the favourite characters from the first film are back to fly the skull and crossbones once more — including Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and the hapless Pintel and Ragetti (Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook).

However, it’s the bad guys who really steal the show this time round — with an octopus-bearded Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his henchmen emerging as a watery malevolence from the depths.

Having overcome the un-dead and reclaimed ownership of his ship, Captain Jack is this time intent on avoiding having to pay an outstanding debt to the legendary master of the sea, Davy Jones. If he can’t find a way to appease Jones he faces a lifetime of servitude below the waves.

Of course nothing is ever simple when the indomitable Captain Jack is around — and his problems wreck the marriage plans of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann and drag them into another ill-fated adventure.

As in the first, the swashbuckling adventure is laced with slapstick moments — Captain Jack’s transformation into a large fruit kebab being a case in point — and the action fairly rattles along in the opening third.

Depp is on suitably attention-seeking form and prances his way through the film with his patented mix of high camp and Machiavellian scheming.

Bloom and Knightley play it straight again and are far less interesting by comparison.

However, an almost-unrecognisable Bill Nighy steals the limelight as the nefarious captain of the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones.

He plays the part with an accent that sounds more Scottish than Sean Connery’s — and also manages to play the organ with his tentacled whiskers at one point.

While the story is typically preposterous, the scenery and special effects are jaw-dropping and both adults and youngsters will be kept entertained by the high-octane action on offer.

A particular highlight is a three-way Russian roulette swordfight atop a runaway water mill wheel between Captain Jack, Will Turner and the returning Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport).

Equally impressive is the appearance of Davy Jones’ secret weapon and mythical beast of the deep — the Kraken.

The spectacular finale face-off between Captain Jack and the ship-munching monster is a fitting end to such a salty, sea-faring escapade.

The only real failing of the film is that it does not offer anything radically different from its predecessor.

However, the last-gasp return of an important character from the first episode also sets us up nicely for next year’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

Verdict: Arrrgh, the entrance fee be worth some of any aspiring pirate’s treasure.

PPPP