Dead Man's Chest

July 08, 2006 | 6 Comments

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Pirates of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest.

It was just about everything a summer blockbuster should be. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first Pirates movie (which is in my all time top 5) It’s comes pretty close to capturing the feel and magic. Dead Man’s Chest biggest problems lie in a few minor consistency and plot issues and a scene or two that tends to drag. Aside from that it’s amazingly fun the whole way through.

I went into the theatre last night having avoided as much of the hype (or lack thereof in some cases) surrounding the film. I didn’t read any reviews and I avoided news bits that would give anything away. For example, I had no clue it was a cliffhanger, so you can imagine my thrill as I began to realize that Pirates 2 was just the beginning of a larger story.

Dead Man’s Chest does a great job of taking the lore and characters of the first film and weaving them into a brand new tale, while at the same time tying it closely to the first movie. This is done mostly through the characters themselves, however certain booty, such as Jack Sparrow’s compass, play a large role as well. Sorry, make that Captain Jack Sparrow. The film carries through quite a few…less tangible themes in addition to said booty.

It’s a bit darker than the first, but not without loads of hilarity, and Gore Verbinski does an amazing job directing and balancing the light with the dark. It’s mostly fast paced, although the second half of the movie moves at a much faster clip. There are a few parts where you’ll have to use your imagination as to how and why someone is where they are doing what they’re doing, but those are few and fairly painless. He’s also been able to work a few more nods to the Disney ride in here and this one feels a bit more like the ride itself: suspenseful, dark and dimly lit yet at the same time funny, whimsical and magical.

The acting is as you’d expect. Depp is great and gets better as the film goes on. Bloom and Knightly are good if nothing special and most of the secondary characters are terrific. I really enjoyed Jack Davenport as Mr. Norrington and was thrilled to see he was still a large part of the movie. Naomie Harris as the Gypsy Queen is great as well. But my favorite performance, hands down, goes to Bill Nighy as Davy Jones. Oooh, it’s a good one.

Speaking of Davy Jones, the character development in Dead Man’s Chest was what really made the film for me. I really enjoyed the evolution of the “love square” between Sparrow, Will, Norrington and Elizabeth. Each goes through quite a few changes as the film goes on and not a one comes out the other side the same. Almost all the secondary parts are interesting and entertaining as well. It’ll be very interesting to see how it all turns out in Pirates 3.

While the movie is in large part character driven, it’d be a crime to skip over the special effects. They’re amazing. Davy Jones and the crew of The Flying Dutchman could very well be part of the best special effects I’ve ever seen. What made it so great was their ability to blend the effects with the performances of the actors. Davy Jones was especially convincing in a very creepy, slimy, slippery way.

Ahh, yeah, it was great. I can’t wait for the third installment.

Filed under: Movies
Keyword Tags: Pirates Dead+Man's+Chest Movie Review

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