Movie Review: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Not a bad movie. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one - maybe familiarity is breeding a little contempt. I just got the feel that while the set pieces were OK, the whole thing ended up being overly long. In particular, the little side trip to the cannibals' island was, as far as I can tell, completely superfluous - the only thing it contributed to the plot was getting rid of the troublesome half of Jack's crew.

There's also the aspect of characters coming back from the dead. It sure looks like in this universe that no one can die - even Barbossa from the last film managed to survive. So it kind of lessens the threats against our heros knowing that anything that happens can be undone - and that especially includes Jack's "death" at the end of the film. Of course he's not dead permanently - and no one in the audience thinks it for a second.

Given that the plot involves about five different groups chasing after a heart locked in a chest, the film didn't seem to do a good job of explaining just what the power of that heart was. The whole story (Jones cut out his heart, and became a human squid, and the heart somehow gives control of the ocean, and what about the kraken, etc. etc.) just doesn't make a lot of sense. And if the heart is so important, why doesn't Jones keep it somewhere safe? For that matter, if he can't go on land, why does he have it buried?

I know, I know - he's a pirate. That's what they do.

The movie does give us the expected touches - Jack Sparrow prancing around, speaking gibberish; Will Turner swordfights; Elizabeth, well, trailing around a couple of hours behind everyone else. At least until the end - her betrayal of Jack was about the only true surprise in the film. Bill Nighy does a good job as the heavily CGI'd Jones, although his crew of nautical Hellraiser rejects could have been a little better designed.

I wasn't as disappointed as some in the ending, since I already knew it was a cliffhanger (everyone knew there was a third film - did they really think it wasn't going to be set up like The Matrix Revolutions?). But the whole thing could have been a bit tighter, especially at the beginning. Three stars, and I'll be seeing the conclusion tomorrow.