We dive once again into the pirate lore with our old friends Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in the second installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Man's Chest. While the waves do get rockier, the story unfortunately does too.
When Captain Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has to hand his soul over to the ghostly Davey Jones (Bill Nighy), he goes for the one thing he can use to barter with his fellow deal-maker; Jones' prized chest. Mingling into this adventure once again are Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and his bride-to-be Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), who are forced to find Sparrow in exchange for their freedom at the hands of the ruthless Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander).
What can be seen throughout the majority of the movie seems to be two distinct plots, with Will and Elizabeth serving as the bridges. While they attempt to steal the legendary compass from Sparrow's belt for Beckett, they end up having to solve Sparrow's problem along the journey. These plots however barely connect until the end of the film and give the viewers almost too much to keep track of.
Throughout the film, many of these characters run throughout the tropical islands with tons of story arcs carrying behind them. Familiar faces return, but most of them without purpose aside from recurring jokes and themes.
New performances vary in the sequel, with Nighy being a highlight as the truly ghostly Jones. Hollander brings light authority to his performance as this British lord, feeling more like an overblown preppy bully than a tyrant. It's Naomie Harris however as eery but seductive Tia Dalma that remains a close second to Nighy.
The CGI on our main villain is carefully designed in detail and realism, along with that of his deadly crew. Prosthetic makeup on the character of Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) gives the impression of an aquatic zombie and the costume and set designs deliver a very similar outlook.
Where the action of the first film held its class, here things get dirtier and creative. The three-way sword fight toward the movie's climax is wonderfully choreographed. In the music department is the talented Hans Zimmer whose style gets a bit faster in pace and at times a tad softer for the emotional times.
Dead Man's Chest tries very hard to give the fans what they want, but it lacks the direction to proceed on a straight course. Fans will be satisfied with what they get, but will likely finish the movie feeling a little sea sick with how many times the story spins out of control.
When Captain Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has to hand his soul over to the ghostly Davey Jones (Bill Nighy), he goes for the one thing he can use to barter with his fellow deal-maker; Jones' prized chest. Mingling into this adventure once again are Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and his bride-to-be Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), who are forced to find Sparrow in exchange for their freedom at the hands of the ruthless Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander).
What can be seen throughout the majority of the movie seems to be two distinct plots, with Will and Elizabeth serving as the bridges. While they attempt to steal the legendary compass from Sparrow's belt for Beckett, they end up having to solve Sparrow's problem along the journey. These plots however barely connect until the end of the film and give the viewers almost too much to keep track of.
Throughout the film, many of these characters run throughout the tropical islands with tons of story arcs carrying behind them. Familiar faces return, but most of them without purpose aside from recurring jokes and themes.
New performances vary in the sequel, with Nighy being a highlight as the truly ghostly Jones. Hollander brings light authority to his performance as this British lord, feeling more like an overblown preppy bully than a tyrant. It's Naomie Harris however as eery but seductive Tia Dalma that remains a close second to Nighy.
The CGI on our main villain is carefully designed in detail and realism, along with that of his deadly crew. Prosthetic makeup on the character of Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) gives the impression of an aquatic zombie and the costume and set designs deliver a very similar outlook.
Where the action of the first film held its class, here things get dirtier and creative. The three-way sword fight toward the movie's climax is wonderfully choreographed. In the music department is the talented Hans Zimmer whose style gets a bit faster in pace and at times a tad softer for the emotional times.
Dead Man's Chest tries very hard to give the fans what they want, but it lacks the direction to proceed on a straight course. Fans will be satisfied with what they get, but will likely finish the movie feeling a little sea sick with how many times the story spins out of control.
-Braydon K
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