Reviews of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

No. Just... no.

Posted : 1 month, 3 weeks ago on 20 October 2009 02:06 (A review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

This will most definately be a short review, since it's sunday and I can't be bitched to write anything long. I'm writing this on a sunday since I was sick most of the week. Now on with the review:
I have no idea what this movie was supposedly about. I have seen the first part, but here there is a massive 10-20 minutes of actual story exposition in all of the 150 minutes that it takes to tell whatever the hell it's trying to tell. After I saw The Weatherman, Gore Verbinski became one of those directors who I have huge expectations to, no matter what the movie is. Here I managed to lower those expectations sufficiently, but I was still incredibly dissapointed. It's sad to see the man make pointless crap like this when he could easily be directing something beautiful like The Weatherman. This movie is just one break neck action scene after another. When there aren't action scenes on the screen, there's no time spent on character development, but instead it's used to show captain Jack throw a pointless joke or two, or simply give us useless dialogue between characters, which, agains popular belief doesn't actually develop them as characters whatsoever.

All the acting here, if you can even use such a word, is incredibly worn out and quite frankly, retarded. Johnny Depp, who is indefinately one of the greatest actors of our time, just falls into these awful manners and gives use a one-dimensional performance. And don't you even fucking get me started on Orlando Bloom. Verbinski can direct good action, but that really doesn't help much when A) we don't give a rat's ass what happens to the characters due to poor development on them, and B) when there are about a gazillion CGI effects on screen at once, all of which could have been made using traditional technology as well instead of going to a computer. There's even blood at one scene, but even that is CGI. I just don't get it. At that point the end slaughter of Silent Hill came to my head, but atleast that CGI-crap was made with style. Also, back to the storytelling, it just runs around on the same thing. When you make a 150 minute movie you should have enough story and action to fill it up, but here the creators of this movie just put in a ton of action scenes that are all very repetetive, that are basically the same damn scene all the time. And the little storytelling that we get is just utterly confusing, I still have no idea what this movie was about. Atleast the music of the movie is good, and composed by Hans Zimmer. But still, overall, this thing is a long shot from it's mediocre predecessor.

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wow

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 20 May 2008 01:11 (A review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

i thought that when this movie came out that it wasnt going to be that good, but when i saw it i was blown away BLOWN AWAY. i LOVE how johnny deep acts and his character is genius.

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Vastly disappointing

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 24 April 2008 03:43 (A review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

"...This is a jar of dirt."

Disney sequels frequently have a typical predisposition for being a worthless waste of time and a complete disgrace to the original.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was made for the money, and although the film didn't entirely suck I found it sorely lacking. Visually, the movie was fantastic. The mild use of CGI looked extraordinary, extravagant and was a treat to the eyes...but did anyone take a moment to contemplate a better script and a better storyline?

After the events of the first film, our favourite notorious swashbuckling hero Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) is thrown into the world of the supernatural as he is reminded of a debt he owes to Davy Jones (Nighy) - his soul. So as Davy and his crew aboard the Flying Dutchman search for Jack, he races against time to find the heart of Davy Jones that would give Jack the ability to scratch off his debt and be in control of Davy.

Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) are set to be married, but their marriage is interrupted when they are arrested for aiding Jack Sparrow many years ago. But Will is given a chance for redemption as he is sent to recover Jack's compass that is of some value to his captors.

The whole plot is convoluted, outrageous, and preposterous - even for a pirate film. The film itself is overblown, dumb and loud. But the worst part is that it outstays its welcome by well over half an hour. Like the first film, it could have done with some heavy trimming.

But on the other hand, the acting was a mixed bag. Johnny Depp is still our loveable Captain Jack Sparrow who is given a bunch of clever lines to deliver, and a great selection of amusing situations that he gets himself into. Depp carried the film, and makes the script sound quite decent.

Orlando Bloom...is a tremendously appalling actor. I don't know what was more disconcerting with his role - the bad screenplay or the insipid way he dispensed his lines. With each new scene Bloom is in, my respect for the actor keeps lowering.

Keira Knightley was among the better additions to the cast, which is a faint praise. The stand out for me, though, was Bill Nighy. His acting skills are stellar, and he delivers a memorable performance despite acting through a CGI mask.

The film moves at a steady pace, but it still runs horribly overlong and I lost interest well before the film's conclusion was even close. The action was first-rate, and one of the few redeeming features. At least the sword-fighting was swashbuckling and exciting.

But of course, one of the best features of the experience was the rollicking soundtrack. The music is downright exceptional and cannot be flawed in any way.

Overall, this inevitable sequel was made for the money, not for the fans. The sequel was announced not long after the release of the first film because of the big pile of treasure it received at the box office. And hence quality was never the question - but money was the bigger picture for the studio. This is a mighty shame, but at least the film is mild entertainment. Worth seeing, I guess.

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Pirates!

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 14 September 2007 03:08 (A review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

I loved all of it 100% but still i can admit that the others were better, but eh, i love pirates of the Caribbean!

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Dead Man

Posted : 3 years, 1 month ago on 8 November 2006 10:12 (A review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

The latest installment of Disney's new money-maker fell far short of the first episode both in storyline and entertainment. I spent the first half of the movie wondering why all the action featured everyone bumbling around chasing each other in these elaborate half hour goofy nailbiter sequences. The other half of the movie was spent wondering when the movie would end. So Jack Sparrow dies? They should have killed the story with him, I can only imagine what his return will be like in the finale.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest review

Posted : 3 years, 1 month ago on 25 October 2006 02:48 (A review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

Jack Sparrow heeft werk. Hij moet vluchten voor de vreselijke Davy Jones, de kapitein van de "Vliegende Hollander" en de verschrikkelijke Kraken, na een obscure schuldkwestie. Maar een ongeluk komt nooit alleen: Will Turner probeert de gekke piraat eveneens te vinden, om zijn geliefde Elizabeth en zichzelf te redden. Dit leuke gezelschap zal uiteindelijk op zoek gaan naar een mysterieuze sleutel, die een al even mysterieuze koffer kan ontsluiten. Grappig om zien hoe een louter commercieel gegeven, namelijk een fi lm afgeleid van een Disney-attractie, kan leiden tot een meesterwerk! Gore Verbinski ('The Weather Man') tekende met dit Pirates of the Caribbean inderdaad verantwoordelijk voor een werk voor het grote publiek van hoog niveau, waarbij hij aansluiting vindt bij de meesterwerken van het genre en de "swashbuckler", een tot nu toe comateus genre. Gezien het grote succes (meer dan 653 miljoen dollar omzet) van dit schouwspel werden twee sequels aangekondigd. In de eerste, 'Dead Man's Chest', is alles buiten proporties opgeblazen: de humor (schatergelach gegarandeerd), de gekte van Sparrow (het spel van Depp?), de speciale effecten (de uitrusting van de "Vliegende Hollander" is indrukwekkend in zijn rotheid), de stunts en de gevechten. Verbinski slaagt erin de grenzen te verleggen, zijn visuele praatjes zijn gedurfd en complex. Een heus feestmaal, à la Jackie Chan. Zot, overdreven, oververhit: de nieuwe afl evering van deze sappige reeksis in elk geval spraakmakend, alhoewel de meningen verdeeld zijn: die gaan van complete adoratie tot verregaande afkeer. Het tweede kamp trekt zich terug achter het lichtvoetige scenario –wat te verwachten viel– en de rampzalige prestaties van Orlando Bloom en Keira Knightley (helemaal tegenovergesteld aan die van de geniale Bill Nighy), ofte dezelfde achillespezen van het eerste werk. Wat er ook van zij, de lat wordt hier heel hoog gelegd. Leve het vervolg!

© Cinenews.be, Gauthier Keyaerts (http://www.cinenews.be/Critics.Detail.cfm?ContentsId=5134&lang=nl)


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