Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is an adventure-filled flim with some great moments but if your looking for substantial plot, keep digging and you might get lucky.

Dead Man’s Chest, directed by Gore Verbinski is the second movie in a trilogy of movies based on the Disney theme park ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was wise enough to deliver more of what worked best from the first movie, Captain Jack Sparrow, played handsomely by Johnny Depp. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley return as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, respectively. Captain Sparrow finds himself in a bind as he must pay a debt to the notorious pirate of the sea (literally) Davy Jones. True to form Sparrow tries to squeeze his way out of the debt by searching for a chest that contains something intimately connected to Davy Jones. But before the action can begin, and it really doesn’t until Davy Jones shows up, Will and Elizabeth have their wedding crashed ceremoniously by an agent of the East India Trading company demanding an artifact that, of course, only Captain Sparrow has in his possession.

At some points in the movie the plot becomes convoluted and busy. Seeing the first movie before watching the second would help since so many characters and story points are brought back. Most enjoyable is watching Davy Jones, played by Bill Nighy, in what must be a seamless combination of makeup, costume, and special effects. I just loved watching him and his crew in action. Fans of Orlando Bloom will be disappointed as his character never really evolves in this movie, in fact he might de-evolve, as he becomes increasingly gullible throughout the film. Knightley can’t even serve as simple eye candy since she’s dressed as a boy for most of the movie. Only until the very end of the film does she contribute to the story by committing an act of sheer treason. Most awkward is the love triangle that forms between the three with no promised resolution till the third movie. In fact there is no ending to this film at all, the last moments are spent in solemn remembrance of a friend lost and then, bam!, it’s time to go and rescue him…..in the third movie.

Overall an enjoyable movie and worth the price of admission to a matinee, but only go if you want to see more Jack Sparrow and Johnny Depp at his best.