"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (OPENS 07/07/06)Hide the rum, me hearties! By the powers of Disney! Those salt-water savages of the briny deep are ba-a-ack in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” If you've seen the 2003 movie, you're already acquainted with the two main blokes, Capt’n Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), along with Will Hunter (Orlando Bloom) and one beautiful “blow-kette,” Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) as the two now-separated lovers.
But, avast! They’ve surely had to scrape the bottom of the ocean to bring up the very scary Davy Jones, that ghostly captain of the legendary ship of the dead called the Flying Dutchman. Davy is played by English actor Bill Nighy in a fantastic computer-graphics-enhanced performance. Then, there’s his scuzzy, half-human, half-sea phantom crew of submariners. It looks like they drained the Sea World aquarium to come up with these creatures, and they are quite startling.
Briefly, the plot suggests that Jack Sparrow promised Davy Jones years ago that Sparrow would repay his debt to Jones by becoming his submerged servant. Sparrow has been running for more than a decade from Davy and his crew, and it's payback time! But Sparrow is never one to pay in haste, and repent at leisure. When Sparrow learns there is a missing key to a treasure chest containing the beating heart of Davy Jones, he's off to look for it. The heart must be found and destroyed, and then presumably Sparrow will be off the hook.
Disney’s mighty clever move is to bring this group on for a second outing, then give this movie a twisted ending with the promise of a third outing next summer. A little research on the Internet suggests the third movie has already been filmed by director Gore Verbinski and crew. Remember, the remarkable thing is that these movies have been made up whole cloth from just a Disney theme park attraction.
So this is the middle movie, and must be regarded as such. Here’s the wrinkle – this movie has the former characters, plus several new and totally amazing computer graphics for a saucy seafood assemblage! While it doesn’t have the most crackerjack plot, (whadda want, everything?) it still delivers in so many funny, creepy, and clever ways. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” is rollicking and sometimes scary fun from beginning to end. For those of you who have missed the swishy swashbuckler Cap’n Jack Sparrow, he’s back, too, and played with even more devilish and delightful abandon – and lots of makeup – by Johnny Depp. There’s a twinkle in his eye and a sly smile on his puckish face, plus a gush of hand gestures that might find him having to explain his heterosexual leanings. Of course, in real life, Johnny Depp has a full-time gal pal and two kids, so that rumor has been deeply debunked. But, I digress…
Bottom line. The first “Pirates” movie made $654 million dollars. The studio is hoping this sequel will do well also. However, “Dead Man’s Chest” will have to play hide-and-seek with “Superman Returns” this weekend and beyond. “Superman” has received amazing critical acclaim and a "boffo" five day opening sprint over the long July 4th holiday; “Pirates” has yet to reach positive preliminary review territory prior to opening on Friday, July 7, 2006. The next few summer weeks will tell the tale. As for me, I was pleasantly entertained and enjoyed the experience, although the movie might have been improved by shortening it a bit. Regrettably, my husband fell asleep during the film, so he offered no commentary.
I believe “Pirates” will do its creators proud. However, my treasure may be your trash. If so, I owe you guys a dish of calamari – and you can eat all of it, because I really dislike the stuff. But we could do sushi as long as I get the California roll.
A quick note. I definitely would NOT advise taking young children to see this one. Get a babysitter instead. This movie is extremely intense and could certainly cause nightmares. So, it's hey-ho-ho and a bottle of rum for adults who aren't squeamish. I give "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" a B+ on my Entertainment Report Card.
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenplay: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Pryce, Geoffrey Rush, Stellan Skarsgård
MPAA Classification:
PG-13 (intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images)
Movie rating: B+
Artists' Rendering of Davy Jones -- Portrayed by Bill Nighy
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