Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
When a sequel for Pirates of the Caribbean was announced, I lost my freaking mind. I was so happy that we were going to be returned to that world we enjoyed so much in Curse of the Black Pearl. And when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest came out, I enjoyed it, just not as much as the first movie. And now it's been ten years and the more I watch it, the more flawed I find it. When you go into this movie with the mindset that it's the middle chapter of a planned trilogy, you know the film you're watching will most likely be a transitional movie. And it is. It picks up where you were with the characters at the end of the last film and takes you to where you need to be at the beginning of the next film. Does that mean that the entire film is bad? Not entirely. The film has some memorable moments that stand out as some of the franchise's best. But there's also a very confusing and convoluted plot to try and keep up with, and the film really doesn't get going until about an hour in. With that all in mind, let's see what's salvageable about Dead Man's Chest.
The main character I wanted to talk about in this film was Will Turner, played by Orlando Bloom. Look, I get that the guy was very popular at the time. He had this role and had just wrapped up playing Legolas in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I'm sorry, I can't take it seriously how we let Orlando Bloom happen. He's a stereotypical good looking guy, but has absolutely no charisma whatsoever. He's just so plain in personality, which isn't so bad when he's playing Legolas, but he's really lacking something as Will Turner. He's way too whiny and dainty to be considered a legit and heroic pirate. Admittedly, Bloom is probably the best of the main cast members to handle a sword, but again, he brings over the skills he learned while playing Legolas. He's probably the least interesting of the main cast to watch and undergoes little to no major development.
Will is brought on board of the Flying Dutchman, captained by the legendary Davy Jones, played by Bill Nighy. The effects for Jones are very well done, I can hardly recognize Nighy's face. I also like how Nighy brought a lot of eccentricities and inflections into his portrayal and the filmmakers kept it in. His crew is an interesting sort, mainly comprised of creatures that resemble sea life. The crew member that should stick out the most is Will's father Bootstrap Bill Turner, played by Stellan Skarsgard. I love how Jones isn't even phased by this, he just gives the Turners an even worse time aboard his ship. And of course, the one major thing this film had going for it in marketing was that Jones was in control of the beastly Kraken. Considering that we aren't properly introduced to Jones, the main villain, until about an hour in, he leaves a pretty good impression that will carry over into the next film.One of my favorite bits of character growth in Dead Man's Chest is with James Norrington, played by Jack Davenport. The former commodore that we saw in the previous film, we learn that Norrington sailed his ship into a hurricane, chasing after Jack Sparrow, lost his crew in the process, resigned his post as commodore, and has become a miserable drunk. That's a lot for a character to go through, and he wasn't exactly a character that I hated in the last film. He was a noble character, which in the case of pirates isn't who we're necessarily rooting for, but I didn't want that amount of bad things to happen to him. As a result, Norrington is willing to do anything to regain his old job. You can see that even when he's drunk, the wheels are turning in his head and he can see what he needs to do next in order to stir the pot in his favor. I love it.
With Jack back in command of the Black Pearl, we get to spend some time with his crew. His first mate Mr. Gibbs, played by Kevin McNally, is a superstitious, rum loving, pirate who serves to explain a lot of the stuff about the sea that we don't understand. Other characters like Marty and Mr. Cotton, played by Martin Klebba and David Bailie, are enjoyable for more superficial reasons. Marty is a shorter character, so that's where a lot of his material comes from. As for Cotton, he had his tongue cut out and taught his parrot how to talk. And then there's Pintel and Ragetti, played by Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook. I just love these guys. Former crew members under Barbossa, these two are ready to command the Black Pearl on their own when they discover it vacated. Then, when our heroes return, they're just kind of accepted onto the crew. From there, they just add so much comedic timing and chemistry that just works for them. In my opinion, they're one of the few comedic duos in a major franchise whose material never gets tired and stale. Arenberg and Crook had amazing chemistry with each other and I would love a movie that took these two on their own adventures of incompetency.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a fine adventure if you're into a few key action sequences. If you want a clever story to rival the first film, you're not going to find it here. This is one entry in the series that forgoes substance for style.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and movie images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures
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