Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc...

Buy This Item Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc... by Walt Disney Video  Available from Amazon  $24.99  on 10-10-2008     Take the first <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i> film, add a dash of <i>20,000 Leagues Under the Sea</i> and a lot more rum. Shake well and you'll have something resembling <i>Dead Man's Chest</i>, a bombastic sequel that's enjoyable as long as you don't think too hard about it. The film opens with the interrupted wedding of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), both of whom are arrested for aiding in the escape of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the first film. Their freedom can only be obtained by getting Captain Jack's compass, which is linked to a key that's linked to a chest belonging to Davy Jones, an undead pirate with a tentacle face and in possession of a lot of people's souls. If you're already confused, don't worry--plot is definitely not the strong suit of the franchise, as the film excels during its stunt pieces, which are impressively extravagant (in particular a three-way swordfight atop a mill wheel). It may help to know that <i>Dead Man's Chest</i> was filmed simultaneously with some of <i>Pirates 3</i>, so don't expect a complete resolution (think more <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>) or the movie will feel a <i>lot</i> longer than it really is. <p> Bloom shows a tad bit more brawn this time around, but he's still every bit as pretty as the tomboyish Knightley. (Seriously, sometimes you think they could swap roles.) Bill Nighy (<I>Love, Actually</i>) weighs in as Davy Jones and Stellan Skarsgård appears as Will's undead father. But the film still belongs wholly to Depp, who in a reprise of his Oscar-nominated role gets all the belly laughs with a single widened eyeliner-ed gaze. He still runs like a cartoon hen and slurs like Keith Richards--and he's still one of the most fascinating movie characters in recent history. <i>--Ellen A. Kim</i> Reader Reviews While I am the first to admit that I was clamoring for a longer Pirates of the Carribean after the first movie sped along at breakneck pace and seemed to end much too soon, I now wish that dead Man's Chest was shorter. Depp is way more than competent and as supremely entertaining as he was in the first film, but the story drags on and on through many unnecessary scenes and is ridden with more plot holes than Jack Sparrow's wardrobe after a swordfight. There is more tedium which retracts the swashbuckling fun of the first film and the danger is less apparent in spite of a computer generated black pearl wrecking octopus the size of the national debt. The film has plenty to laugh about though, and entertainment is what a film like this is really about, so the fun value is still high, but Dead Man's Chest needs quite a bit more conniving on the part of the writers to bring out the abundant treasure we saw in Black Pearl. 3.25 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc... Available from Amazon Price: $24.99 Updated on 10-10-2008.

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