Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Reviews

This film is a little too long, and doesn't quite have the charm of the predecessor. But it is solid entertainment, with a good plot, and consistently good acting, as well as the whole production looking stunning. Johnny Depp is as lovable as always as Jack, and Kiera Knightly is as lovely as ever. Orlando Bloom, while less charismatic than he was in the first movie, is still charming. Jonathan Pryce and Jack Davenport also delight, as does Stellan Skargaard as Bootstrap Bill. But an unrecognisable Bill Nighy almost steals the show as the rather creepy Davy Jones. The special effects and the stunts were very impressive especially with the very scary krakon, so was the outstanding music score and although the script lacks the sparkle of the predecessor, this is a resoundingly entertaining film nonetheless. Oh, and be prepared for a surprise at the end. 8/10 Bethany Cox.

Everything wrong with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest can be perfectly summarized in the frenzied battle that encapsulates much of the climax. There’s Will, Jack, and a dispossessed Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport) fighting in a gigantic spinning wheel across an island terrain. Meanwhile, the two comic relief pirates (Mackenzie Crook and Lee Arenberg) are chased by Elizabeth after they steal the title’s chest. Soon both of these groups must stop their in-fighting to take on Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his crew. If you’re exhausted reading that much plot dump, well, we haven’t even mentioned Beckett (Tom Hollander), a heavy from the East Indian trading company who sneers and pulls puppet strings throughout the plot, and Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), a swamp dwelling witch who exists as both exposition dump and the keeper of vital character backstory for several players.

 

Plot bloat was already a problem in the first entry, and this sequel only exacerbates this problem. Less is not more, more is more, and too much of a good thing is simply Disney trying to demonstrate blockbuster dominance. This bloated feeling isn’t simply from too many characters demanding time and attention, but too much time spent on frantic action sequences that drag on past the point of being enjoyable. We get two daring escapes across islands in circular contraptions, two Kraken attacks, two love triangles, and numerous other instances of the film doubling back on itself. Editing would only have improved matters.

 

If it sounds like I disliked Dead Man’s Chest, well, you’d be wrong. The problems are obvious and there’s no going around them. Yes, this one also outstays its welcome, but it’s still highly enjoyable for the sheer lunacy on display. This is a movie with Davy Jones envisioned as made up from various barnacles, crustaceans, and an octopus face. There’s an immortal monkey, an island of cannibals, plenty of gags involving a pirate’s fake eye and his newfound religious views, and the female character getting the more interesting character development.

 

There’s a lot to like about the Pirates franchise in general, including the ever-expanding mythology that feels breezily constructed for a vague framework, and Dead Man’s Chest is no different. It’s a definite step-down from the first, but it’s solidly entertaining and well-made. I mean, zombie-pirates revealed only in moonlight is cool, but an entire ship and crew made up coral and sea flora and fauna? That’s awesome, and provides some moments to stare in awe at expertly done special-effects work and wholly original creature designs.

 

Ok, so maybe the Kraken attacks have not aged well. And by not aged well, I mean what once looked terrifying and majestic on the big screen now looks rubbery and painfully artificial. Thankfully these moments are kept to a minimum and the stellar work done on Jones and crew (mostly) remains convincing and engaging. It helps that many of their scenes take place in darkened rooms, atmospheric lighting, or in the rain, all tricks and forgiving circumstances for special effects to retain their power.

 

In fact, Dead Man’s Chest is a darker, more atmospheric experience all around. There’s still an element of swashbuckling daring, an alchemy of too many disparate elements coming together to form a mixed brew, but the gallows humor and more supernatural aspects of the first take a strong grasp here. It’s not a bad thing necessarily, but eventually the foundations start to crack and there’s still another hour or so of movie to get through. Then there’s the ending which is clearly open-ended for the sequel, not so coincidentally filmed back-to-back with this one. Just as idiosyncratic and rambunctious as The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest still threatens to sink underneath the weight of its own ambitions.

I haven't seen the 3rd 'Pirates of the Caribbean' yet but I've seen the first one which was good but was it great? It's even on IMDB 250! The forth one was just terrible!

I've seen 'Dead Man's Chest' too, it's not the best but it's still decent and better than 'On Stranger Tides', although the story is rather weak, Johnny Depp gives another good performance, the action scenes are scary, they make it a decent fun movie!

Honestly, I never really understood the whole frenzy about ‘Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'. I mean, yes, I did enjoy it but what is that great? It is even on the Imdb top 250… Sure, it was a fun movie but not much more than that, I’m afraid. Anyway, after the surprise success of the 1st installment, of course, they quickly went forward with some sequels and they even shot those 2 sequels back-to back for a huge budget. Eventually, this bet paid off and those movies were hugely successful, especially this first sequel. Indeed, it is so far the most successful installment of this franchise, it broke many records when it was released and even ended up 3rd highest grossing movie of all time (behind ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King’). That’s all really nice but was the movie actually any good? Personally, I had some rather mixed feelings about the whole thing. I mean, it was entertaining enough and rather well made and it was pretty neat to see again good old Captain Jack Sparrow but the whole thing was nothing great whatsoever. Above all, the plot was just way too convoluted for its own good. Still, for a blockbuster, I have seen much worse than this and it remains a fun flick, no doubt about it, and it is worth a look, especially if you enjoyed the first movie.

With great success comes a great sequel; thus spake Uncle Ben's lesser known younger brother, Uncle Tim. And we've had several examples, ranging from this genre to that. Does Pirates fall under the category? Unfortunately, no! The first film was great, no doubt about it, but this sequel wasn't so much. In the first film they didn't even try to be funny, they just did it naturally and effortlessly, but over here they tried too hard, and limped too badly. Everyone seemed lazy, too tired, too fed up, as if they were all chained to large shackles. Although this sequel does resemble Empire Strikes Back somewhat - Jack Sparrow and Han Solo are captured and the rest of the characters must rescue him; which happens in the third part - it actually shares the same soul as The Matrix trilogy. The first Matrix is legendary: the second a stick in the mud, but quite enjoyable.

I know, they had to expand the story, but couldn't they have done it in an enjoyable way? Seriously, the way everyone was dragging their feet as if stuck in quick-sand made this 2 and a half hour feature feel like a 4 hour epic. Also, it was unnecessarily dark and dwelled quite a bit too much into religion for my taste. What's the harm in keeping it children friendly? Why is it that whenever someone, anyone, everyone gets a free reign, the first thing they do is go dark? or stray terribly off-course? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy dark films, but since Curse was a quite light-hearted, family-friendly entertainment, a dark and violent sequel wasn't called for. I'm currently downloading the third part, and let's see if that's better of the trio or not!

From the performances, Johnny Depp was as usual up to the mark, but the main spotlight was Bill Nighy as Davy Jones. Although initially disappointed that they followed up a comedic villain from the first film - Hector Barbossa - to a nonsensical character, Davy Jones eventually warmed up to me as an excellent successor. The character was dominating, the acting amazing. It felt real, with every twitch a convincing one. Bill Nighy did a brilliant job. The rest of the cast, especially those returning for the second time, were all great once again, albeit a little tired and dazed looking. Newcomer Naomi Harris impressed me by her performance as Dai Lama. It was a fascinating performance, a good blend of both comic and seriousness.

In conclusion, Dead Man's Chest has some very convincing moments regarding Davy Jones but is too silly in almost every other part. The one where Will and the band of miscreants tumble down the hill in a ball of bones - seriously, no broken bones? no deaths? Also, the three way fight between Will, Jack and Norrington on top of the giant wheel. Quite impressive, yes, but it was Indiana Jones and company falling from a plane on a waterbed 12,000 feet to safety on the snow all over again!

7.0/10

This film is very similar to the first film. I refer to the flaws, the strengths, and in essence, everything that has to do with the first film. This is not good, nor bad. The first movie was an enjoyable rumpus, but it was filled with flaws and holes. This film was no different, but it balances out as being nearly as good, if not equal to the first.

The first similarity between the two films is the first half hour. The content is different enough, but it starts in the same way as the first. That is, a brilliant first half hour, then an hour and a half of pirates that never is as good as the first bit.

This time however, I was entertained a little bit more the rest of the way through. The first half hour wasn't as strong as the first film's beginning, but it makes up for it with a stronger body.

The special effects are incredible, even better than the first. The scenes with the legendary Krakken in particular are very good.

And this brings up one of "Dead Man's Chest's" biggest strengths; it's action scenes. Unlike the first, much of the action is fun and memorable. There is one elaborate part where a chase for a chest, a moving sword fight, and a clash with Davy Jone's crew all occurs at once on a beach, in a mill, and in a jungle. It's very entertaining, and quite thrilling. It's also quite elaborate, the way everything occurs at once, but I couldn't help but think about how much was just filled in with CGI later, rather than filming simotaneously.

This film does, however have some new flaws the first didn't have. One thing is the plot, or more specifically, lack of. I felt like I kept waiting for the plot to kick in. It never really did.

Also, the character of Jack Sparrow was one of the most entertaining bits of the first film. Unfortunately, he has a considerably smaller role in this film, and he can't truthfully be considered the star in this episode. This leads to a lot of dull stretches.

On the upside, the score is even stronger than that of the first. This time, it's fully composed by Hanz Zimmer and it's not only good, it's incredible. This is a soundtrack you'll want on your iPod.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is just as good as the first; with weaknesses and strengths balancing out to create an equal package. One just wishes that there was some kind of reason to all the fighting and action, because frankly, we never get one.

After the great success that was Curse Of The Black Pearl and even though it ended great enough and that story was told, Dead Man's Chest didn't exactly need to be made and they were my exact thoughts before I saw this. However, it actually turned out to be a very enjoyable film that almost became as great as the first film did. The best thing about Dead Man's Chest in my opinion is that to begin with, we thought it was like an unnecessary money-grubber so to speak but as the film progressed, it actually became like a franchise and looked like there needed to be another build-up finale which is exactly what we got.


It was brilliant how the makers added some older parts in the dialogue of the predecessor and how it became a totally different kind of story at the same time with different characters and even more adventures. Pretty much everything in the category of production such as the budget, effects amongst others in Dead Man's Chest was exactly what The Curse Of The Black Pearl had but higher. The effects in the film are just absolutely incredible! There are many moments in the film that has live-action/CGI together, motion-capture (actions of a person added to visual effects) and then obviously ones with no visual effects at all and was almost like basic filmmaking (but that was rarely the case).


As they are getting married, swashbuckling former blacksmith Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan, daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann, are both arrested by Lord Cutler Beckett and are sentenced to death. Beckett makes a deal with Will for his freedom, Beckett wants Will to find his old friend, pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and give him Jack's magic compass. Agreeing, Will tracks down Jack and finds him and his crew of The Black Pearl on a tribal island inhabited by cannibalistic tribal warriors. Jack makes a deal with Will and he will only give Will his compass, if Will agrees to help him find a key to a chest containing the heart of the octopus like Davy Jones, captain of The Flying Dutchman, so he may free his soul from eternal servitude. Pursued by Davy Jones and his crew of undead warriors and his creature that lives in the sea "The Kraken", Will and Elizabeth go in aid of Jack as they set out to get to the chest first before Davy Jones does, which could spell doom for Jack and his companions and Will must succeed in giving Lord Beckett, the compass, as Beckett plots to put a end to the pirates forever.


At the time of Dead Man's Chest's release, Johnny Depp really was in everybody's good books after his outstanding performance in Curse Of The Black Pearl and other films in between such as Marc Forster's Finding Neverland as Sir James Matthew Barrie and Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory as Willy Wonka. His return as Captain (yes, definitely Captain now) Jack Sparrow was, as predicted, a magnificent one! Because of his truly great performances as the character, we can truly tell that he takes great pleasure playing Cap'n Jack. He may not have received as much recognition and credit regarding awards as his role in Curse Of The Black Pearl did but for me, he deserved just as much! At least he got a Best Actor Musical/Comedy nomination at the Golden Globes in 2006. Orlando Bloom, just like in the first film, shows that he just does not fit the Will Turner character in the slightest. I'm sorry but there is hardly anything heroic, honourable or even wise about Will. Heath Ledger was still my favourite pick for Will.


Keira Knightley, like Johnny Depp, is in everyone's good books at the moment, also, not only because of the first Pirates Of The Caribbean but because of her Academy Award nomination in Pride And Prejudice for Best Leading Actress so expectations for reprising her role as Elizabeth Swann were rather high for me. Her performance was good once again but this time we saw a very different Elizabeth in this one. Elizabeth isn't this sweet and innocent woman she was previously but now she has become a bad girl so to speak who is slowly becoming like a pirate herself especially when she gets herself more involved with Jack Sparrow on her search for Will. Davy Jones's involvement is added to make it a more fairy tale fictional story seeing as Davy Jones is a famous fictional character in books and is mentioned in a lot of films like this. As for the performance as the actor who plays him - Bill Nighy, I thought his performance was quite disappointing because not only was the performance rather un-terrifying at times but also it became quite annoying on occasions. Why annoying? Well, Nighy kept constantly pouting, strange facial expressions and strange sounds in speech whether its in mid-sentence or the end of one. I got on my nerves quite quickly and I just think they could have found a better actor to play Davy Jones but still glad that Davy Jones was included in the film and didn't ruin my liking for the film. Jack Davenport reprises his role as James Norrington but not Commodore this time. He is howling for Jack's blood for ''ruining his life'' when it was in fact Will. He is, like Elizabeth, slowly becoming a pirate himself until he learns of the chest and what the content of it is.


Gore Verbinski really is one of the most underrated directors in my opinion despite he has made a series of films that perhaps are the most over-hyped films that have ever been made. His work on Dead Man's Chest as wel as At World's End required a lot more than what was required in Curse Of The Black Pearl seeing as the duration of the film was longer, more visual effects and perhaps even more actors and crew members involved. Dead Man's Chest perhaps isn't as scary to watch as its predecessor but it features characters that in many ways can be very uneasy for children's eyes such as a tribe of cannibals that does show a few parts of human flesh and skeletons, a man who cut out his own heart and put it inside a chest, a man with only one eye, a mysterious sea creature that is squid-octopus alike and destroys ships and eats the people on them amongst others but because it is a film by Disney and it wants its target audience to be everyone who sees it. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio wrote another great script together especially when the film didn't need to be made and that a whole new story was created.


Overall, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is an absolutely awesome sequel to Curse Of The Black Pearl and honours it well and perhaps couldn't have done so any better minus a few exceptions. It has a very excitable and rather teasing ending where the hype of At World's End certainly arose to the highest standard (just too bad that it didn't entirely satisfy). Dead Man's Chest is underrated critically but really is far from underrated regarding popularity! In my opinion, it is one of the best sequels I have watched and is almost as entertaining and fun as Curse Of The Black Pearl.

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.

"...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.

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.