Review of Pirates Of The Caribbean Dead Mans Chest
Score: 83
Sub-Section: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Date: Jul 14, 2006
The newest installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Man’s Chest, finds him in debt to the fearsome lord of the sea, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Along for the ride are lovers Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). Pretty much the entire cast of The Curse of the Black Pearl make an appearance as well.
Dead Man’s Chest begins with the marriage of Will and Elizabeth eminent. Plans go awry quickly when they are both arrested for aiding in the escape of the known pirate and criminal, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Their arrests, however, are just blackmail to lure them into helping in the recovery of a magical compass in the possession of Captain Jack. In the meantime, Jack is in an immense predicament. He owes his soul to Davy Jones, a half squid, half pirate creature who lives under the sea and captains a fearsome boat, the Flying Dutchman. Jones puts a “black mark” on Captain Jack, meaning that he will attract a monstrous sea creature know as the Kraken and it will destroy him and his ship.
Johnny Depp stole the show in the original Pirates of the Caribbean, so it would make sense to focus on him in the sequel, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out this way. What made the first one work so well was the romance between Will and Elizabeth and their histories. Sparrow had a somewhat supporting role and the scenes he was in were brilliant. Will and Elizabeth are somewhat side characters in this one, relegated to being used just to keep the plot moving along. Will meets his father, Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård), but the emotional weight it should have carried doesn’t materialize.
Director Gore Verbinski created a perfect example of your standard summer blockbuster. There is a tremendous amount of action, (attempted) humor, romance, swashbuckling…but the screenwriters seemed to forget that the plot made the original so unique. Even the best part of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow, has been made more flamboyant and goofy. He seems at times to be an exaggeration of the original character.
The actors all play their respective roles as well as in the original, with the possible exception of Johnny Depp going just a little too overboard with the mannerisms of Captain Jack. Bill Nighy and Keira Knightley give especially remarkable performances. Orlando Bloom is still the bland, pretty-faced straight man to the comedic Jack Sparrow.
If you’re looking for the summer blockbuster, forget Superman, this is the movie to see. The plot lags at times, the movie drags at times, and it is no where near the original, but it pushes so much fun at you that it’s hard to not have a little throughout the flick. The special effects are amazing, particularly the battles with the Kraken. I’m looking forward to the finale and the appearance of Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow’s father.
P.S. This is the middle film of a trilogy, so much like The Two Towers, don’t expect much of a resolution.
Other related links:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Trailer at Apple.com
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at IMDB.com
To visit the official website at Disney.com.