Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley
Directed by: Gore Verbinksi
Rating: ***-1/2

It's been a while since I had seen the original Pirates of the Caribbean... but I remembered the basic jist of the story and having played through Kingdom Hearts 2, I got a little bit reacquainted with the characters and being a Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley fan, I was geared up to see the first of two back-to-back sequels to the 2004 film: Curse of the Black Pearl

The basic story with this film (and subsequently, the 3rd installment: At World's End) is twofold. 1st: Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), back under the command of the Black Pearl, is desperately searching for a new treasure... and like the last film, this "treasure" is important to Mr. Sparrow because the longer it goes unclaimed, the more likely he is to have to repay his debt to Davey Jones (played wonderfully in this film by Bill Nighy).

2nd: After aiding and abbetting the escape of Jack Sparrow from charges against him, Elizabeth Swan (Knightley) and Will Turner (Bloom) are brought up on charges and sentenced to death. Of course, as is a common theme in this film, it seems everyone has a price. Now "Lord" Cutler Beckett of the East Indian Trading Company wants the magical compass that helped Jack Sparrow find the cursed gold in the 1st film. In exchange for his assistance of retrieving the compass, Beckett is willing to give Turner a full pardon.

Of course, as Will Turner eventually meets up with Captain Sparrow, these two stories intertwine in what becomes a fast-paced action movie the likes of which no comic book sequel could ever match and where as with Superman Returns and you were left looking at your watch at the end of that 2-1/2 hour venture, you're left looking at your watch as the credits of Dead Man's Chest saying "What!? It's over already!?"


Here's how the film broke down for me in the key areas of Acting, Plot, Cinematography/Special Effects/Make-up, and Entertainment Value:


Acting: ***-1/2

Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy alone give this film an automatic three stars. There is no character in my recent memory that is played so magnificently as Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. The surprising part of this film though, is that Bill Nighy (Shaun of the Dead) is damned near Depp's equal as the infamous Davey Jones cephalopod form. Thankfully Depp and Nighy's acting takes place (for the most part) as part of two different storylines, so the acting spread evenly enough throughout the film. Of course, compared to these two character actors, everyone else minus the ocassional quick back and forth between two former Pearl crew members, Pintell and Ragitti, out for their own personal gain, the acting is flatter than Keira Knightley's chest.

Plot: **

Sadly, plot and plot holes is what really drags down this film. Thank god there is enough action to try and willfully ignore this heavily forced and loosely tied plotline. From the get-go, everything from the bungled warrants for the arrest of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann to the Lord Beckett desire to have the compass (for a reason that isn't revealed until more than half-way in to the film) a series of convenient circumstances and poorly explained surprises is all that keeps this film from being a poor man's Pulp Fiction... actually no... not just poor... we're talking homeless, living out of a grocery cart and sleeping on heat grate-poor.

Cinematography/Special Effects/Make-Up: ****

Finally! Something that Bruckheimer and Verbinski know how to do... and they do it magnificently here. From the opening scene to the giant wheel fight scene to the oh so scary and ominous KRAKEN (or is it Krayken? Krahken?) it's damned near seemless but CGI is CGI is CGI and it still makes it hard to suspend disbelief when you use it so heavily in some scenes. Also, while I am a guy and Keira Knightley is hotter than the surface of the sun, I don't need to be introduced to her breasts and THEN her character. Also, there were scenes/shots that really should have been cut out of the film and needlessly added length to an already lengthy film... but I suppose that's more of a plot problem then cinematography.

Entertainment Value: ****-1/2

One of the best times I've had in the movie theatre since seeing the Aristocrats... even better actually, because not only was I laughing, I was totally absorbed by the action sequences and was found rooting even harder for Jack Sparrow in the end. For a movie whose originator I saw twice, but hadn't really cared about for the past year or so... this film does an excellent job of making you care for the characters... hell, by the end I was even feeling sorry for Will Turner. Will (Orlando Fuckin' Bloom) Turner. That, my friends, is an accomplishment in movie making.

Easily the most entertaining film of the year so far... and IMO, as far as superhero movies go, not even Spiderman can top this one for entertainment value.

So that's how it breaks down and how we get a 3-1/2 out of 5-star rating for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest but make no mistake that I will be seeing this film once or twice more thsi summer and I'll be eagerly anticipating the release of the third installment: At World's End next summer.

I highly reccomend seeing this film and helping it surge ahead in the box office. There hasn't been a more deserving film to rule the B.O. in quite a while... but that'll all change of course on August 18th when we finally get to see SNAKES ON A MUTHAFUCKIN' PLANE!