My Take: Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
The first Pirates was a great ride from beginning to finish, interlaced with a good bit of screwball pirate comedy made all the better by Johnny Depp's portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow. He and the rest of the main players from the first movie are all back in Dead Man's Chest; while this is the second in the series, it's actually part one of a two parter and plays out just as such.
It begins with the impending nuptials of Elisabeth (played by Natalie Portman look alike Keira Nightly) and Will Turner (played byOrlando Bloom Legolas). Things go awry when a Captain from the East India Trading Company arrives demanding the arrest of the almost bride and groom. Eventually it comes out that the Capatain wants something from the notorious Capt. Jack Sparrow and promises freedom to Will and Elisabeth if Will can get Jack's compass. This pursuit takes up the first half of the movie and serves to update everybody on where everyone else is as well as give Jack a platform for more of his antics, which always illicit at least a chuckle and sometimes a boisterous laugh.
Along the way we are introduced to Davey Jones, the notorious pirate that captains the Flying Dutchman, apparently a ship the equal of the Black Pearl in terms of "Oh, no - pirates!" We also get to meet the father of Will Turner, the oft-mentioned-in-the-first-film Bootstrap Bill, himself a member of Jones' crew. The second half of the movie is spent with Will joining his father and the crew of the Dutchman, secretly trying to find a key that Capt. Davey keeps a... err... secret. This is where the movie really starts to get it's legs, as Jack, Will, and a washed up Commodore Norrington begin a three way duel for the contents of the Dead Man's Chest, and another hilarious melt down by Elizabeth on a deserted island.
There's a lot to like in this movie, but I have to wonder if the plot couldn't have been simplified a little more and then allowed the characters to complicate things, a la the first Pirates. I spent the first half of the movie trying to figure things out more, something that wasn't really required for the first movie. Also, I never fully understood why the crew of the Dutchman were able to survive underwater (granted, they all have some sort of fish that they represent - squids, sharks, etc.) but could be felled by a sword without a problem. And Davey Jones never reaches the heights of Geoffrey Rush's portrayal of the dastardly Capt. Barbosa; instead, he comes off more like a lover sick puppy when it is truly revealed what is inside the chest wanted by all.
Taking this movie on it's own merits, without having seen the next one, I find myself teetering between a 6 and 7 (out of 10); the first half really kind of dragged for me, but the second half was a good payoff. But, because of a major event at the end (see pirates booty below), I'll give it the 7. However, I reserve the right to change this to a 6 or even worse if they blow the next movie.
Beware, mateys! Thar be major pirate booty below - proceed at your own risk! (Read: spoilers below posted in invisio-text - highlight if you want):
It begins with the impending nuptials of Elisabeth (played by Natalie Portman look alike Keira Nightly) and Will Turner (played by
Along the way we are introduced to Davey Jones, the notorious pirate that captains the Flying Dutchman, apparently a ship the equal of the Black Pearl in terms of "Oh, no - pirates!" We also get to meet the father of Will Turner, the oft-mentioned-in-the-first-film Bootstrap Bill, himself a member of Jones' crew. The second half of the movie is spent with Will joining his father and the crew of the Dutchman, secretly trying to find a key that Capt. Davey keeps a... err... secret. This is where the movie really starts to get it's legs, as Jack, Will, and a washed up Commodore Norrington begin a three way duel for the contents of the Dead Man's Chest, and another hilarious melt down by Elizabeth on a deserted island.
There's a lot to like in this movie, but I have to wonder if the plot couldn't have been simplified a little more and then allowed the characters to complicate things, a la the first Pirates. I spent the first half of the movie trying to figure things out more, something that wasn't really required for the first movie. Also, I never fully understood why the crew of the Dutchman were able to survive underwater (granted, they all have some sort of fish that they represent - squids, sharks, etc.) but could be felled by a sword without a problem. And Davey Jones never reaches the heights of Geoffrey Rush's portrayal of the dastardly Capt. Barbosa; instead, he comes off more like a lover sick puppy when it is truly revealed what is inside the chest wanted by all.
Taking this movie on it's own merits, without having seen the next one, I find myself teetering between a 6 and 7 (out of 10); the first half really kind of dragged for me, but the second half was a good payoff. But, because of a major event at the end (see pirates booty below), I'll give it the 7. However, I reserve the right to change this to a 6 or even worse if they blow the next movie.
Beware, mateys! Thar be major pirate booty below - proceed at your own risk! (Read: spoilers below posted in invisio-text - highlight if you want):
- Jack's compass spends the movie spinning in all different directions, but settles on Davey Jones' heart - the contents of the Dead Man's Chest.
- After teasing him throughout the movie, Elizabeth finally plants a big wet sloppy one on Jack that cathes the eye of her fiancé - shortly before she chains Sparrow to the Pearl as the rest of the crew abandons ship, something she regrets for the rest of the movie because...
- Jack battles the Cracken, a giant see monster, as it overtakes the Black Pearl. He's last seen stepping in to it's mouth with sword drawn. Moments later, the monster crushes the Pearl and takes it down to the bottom of the sea.
- The survivors of the Pearl, including Will and Elizabeth, return to the "witch-doctor" woman, despondent at the loss of Jack, the Pearl, and the heart of Jones. Elizabeth seems to be very quietly suffering, what with her murdering Jack and all.
- The last scene has the crew meeting there new Captain, the one who will take them to the End of the World to find the Cracken - Captain Barbosa, in all his Granny-Smith-apple eating glory.
posted by misawa at 8:36 AM
1 Comments:
I didn't like Dead Man's Chest half as much as the first one. A little too dark, the action a too over the top, and I didn't like the cracken as a device for creating mayhem.
That's not to say I won't buy the DVD, and I found many parts entertaining, but the third needs to wrap up the package a lot better.
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