Capt. Jack Sparrow and his scurvy crew of pirates are back for another adventure with Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest. This time Jack, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann must face off against the legendary Davy Jones in an attempt to discover the Dead Man’s Chest before Jones can collect on a blood debt that Sparrow owes him.
As with the original film, the strength of Dead Man’s Chest is in the huge adventure aspects of the plot; another great performance from Depp; and amazing visual effects
The sequel sees all the rollercoaster fun of the original At the same time, the follow-up features a thicker plot, more bizarre characters (Jones is a sort of squid creature with a big claw for a hand), and a cliffhanger ending that might leave a few fans disappointed.
Fortunately, the film also has everything that made the first movie a huge success – namely the return of Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley; director Gore Verbinski; and writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott. The sequel also features good performances from Bill Nighy (who plays Davy Jones) and Stellan Skarsgård (who plays Turner’s father Bootstrap Bill).
Capt. Jack Sparrow is back
Unlike the first film, Dead Man’s Chest does have some pacing issues at the beginning. This is mainly caused by the separation of the three main characters and the time spent bringing them back together. At the beginning it appears that a wedding is in the picture for Will (Bloom) and Elizabeth (Knightley) – that is until they discover that they have arrest warrants sworn out for them due to their past involvement with that legendary pirate Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp).
The warrants are in the possession of Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander) who represents the East India Trading Company. Beckett is quick to offer Will a deal that will spare both of them if Will agrees to bring back a compass that hangs around Jack Sparrow’s neck. Will agrees and sets off after Sparrow. However, Elizabeth doesn’t put a lot of faith in Will’s abilities and soon sets off after Will and Jack.
While all this is going on, Jack is off on an adventure of his own. It seems he owes Davy Jones his soul, and (after a visit with Bootstrap Bill) discovers that Jones has sent the Kraken after the Black Pearl. Jack’s only hope is to discover the location of the Dead Man’s Chest which is said to hold Davy Jones’ heart.
After a run in with some local islanders, Will and Jack are reunited for another adventure. A “misunderstanding” between Jack and Will eventually lands Will on Jones’ ship the Flying Dutchman. Will is reunited with his father, discovers the truth about what is happening with Jack, and eventually gets back to his friends.
Davy Jones is no Capt. Barbossa
Once all three of the main cast is back together, the film’s pace really takes off with Jack and company in a race to get to the chest, avoid the Kraken, and beat Davy Jones before he can claim his debt.
As with the original film, the strength of Dead Man’s Chest is in the huge adventure aspects of the plot; another great performance from Depp; and amazing visual effects (though this time I thought the film was a bit CGI heavy). The plot seems more epic in scale with this film, and you can tell the writers really enjoy exploring this new world they have created for the characters. Everything is bigger in this sequel, and this expansion allows the film’s problems to be forgivable.
Depp is once again that main reason to watch the movie, and makes even some of the dull moments of the film entertaining. His character has lost some of the charm that he had in the first film (when no one knew what to expect), but still keeps you wondering just what he might do next. Although Dead Man’s Chest features an ensemble cast, it is impossible to imagine the movie being any good without the actor.
Bloom and Knightley (who gets to have a little more fun this time) provide the same chemistry for their roles, but the plot is clearly focused on Sparrow. Bloom gets some good screen time with the side story involving his father - which gives him a larger purpose in the film. Knightley just seems to be along for the ride. She naturally wants to make sure Turner returns to her so she can have her wedding day, but has no larger reason for being in the movie.
Nighy’s Davy Jones is a good villain for Sparrow and pals to square off against, but he lacks some of the intensity of Geoffrey Rush’s Capt. Barbossa. This could be because of the CGI monster design of the character versus. Rush’s straight forward pirate (when not in skeleton form). The character just became more of a distraction for me than a real threat to our heroes. Luckily, Nighy is an extremely capable actor and helps keep you interested in the character and the history of how he became the creature that now rules the seas.
Elizabeth just wants to get married
The Two-Disc Collector’s Edition comes loaded with special features that really take you into the making of the film, and will be enjoyable to any fan of the series. Like most “collector’s editions” the features might be a bit much for anyone who is not a diehard fan of the movies.
Disc One special features include commentary with Elliott and Rossio, and Bloopers of the Caribbean. The bloopers are funny, and show how the cast really enjoys making these films.
Disc Two (which has the bulk of the features) takes you into the making of the movie with pretty much every aspect of filmmaking covered. While the features are all interesting, they do get a bit redundant, and some could have been condensed into one longer feature.
“Charting the Return” is a pre-production documentary that goes into a lot of detail about how the sequel was devised. "According to Plan: The Harrowing and True Story of Dead Man’s Chest” is a 62 minute “making of the movie” journal. "Captain Jack from Head to Toe" will be a treat for Depp fans and goes into the details that make up the character – from his costumes to the props he carries. “Mastering the Blade” is a five minute look at the training the actors went through to film the sword fights in the movie.
“Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend” is a 12 minute feature on the CGI that was used to create the character. “Creating the Kraken” is another look at the film’s CGI effects – this time focusing on the sea creature. “Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attracting” is a 10 minute feature on the Disney ride that inspired the movies and how it got a facelift to match its big screen counterparts.
Turner gets sucked into Sparrow’s problems
"Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage" is a three minute look at the movie’s bone cage. "Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Journey" gives fans a look at some of the still photography taken during the filming. "Pirates on Main Street" is a four minute look at the movie’s premiere.
Even with its faults, Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest is a fun movie, and solid sequel. Yes, the movie has a cliffhanger ending that might leave some fans feeling ripped-off, but it also leaves you wanting to see the third installment in the series. The movie has all the elements that made the original a huge hit, and I would highly recommend it.
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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