Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Jerry Bruckheimer knows how to make big films (Top Gun, Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor), and amazingly enough this is only his third sequel (Beverly Hills Cop II and Bad Boys II). When producer Bruckheimer makes a sequel, he tries to make sure that it’s longer and more action-packed than the first. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest fits nicely into Bruckheimer’s winning formula. When the first film came out, I tried hard to resist the hoopla. I just figured a movie based on a Disneyland ride was the stupidest thing I ever heard (and was right when you take into account The Country Bears and The Haunted Mansion). But with all the hype, I grudging sat in the crappy Westbank theatre and was instantly turned around when I first saw Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow walk off his sinking ship straight onto the dock. What a wonderful entrance! And from that point on, I was hooked. So now that expectations were heightened, how would the first of two sequels play out?

My only big complaint about Dead Man’s Chest is the length of the movie. Now granted, the film is only seven minutes longer than the first movie, but this time it actually shows. There is one long scene on a cannibal island that, while funny and entertaining, does not add any substance to the story whatsoever. (It kind of reminds of the running of the dinosaurs in the overly-long King Kong.) My other small beef is about how we see too much of Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner this time around; but I hear he wouldn’t come back to do the sequel if they didn’t give him more swashbuckling time. Some say the story suffers because you have to wait until the third film before things are resolved. Ya, that’s what happens in trilogies. Are you telling me that people hated Empire Strikes Back because they didn’t resolve the freezing of Han Solo until Return of the Jedi? Gimmie a break! More viewers should get over this instant gratification kick and just wait for the next movie. It’s called anticipation people!

I never really find Bruckheimer movies all that deep, but they sure are entertaining. Johnny Depp, of course, is the main reason to watch this film. He gets another fine entrance, an enjoyable hat shopping spree and a perfectly comic scene involving a spit and fruit. Just watching Jack Sparrow, sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow running down a beach is hysterical. One of my favourite scenes in the film is an unbelievable but inventive three-way sword fight that starts on the beach and end in a wheel. Pirates is currently the seventh highest grossing film of all time having just beat Revenge of the Sith. Why not plunk down your money and help it achieve its goal of getting higher and beating Spiderman and Shrek. This film is meant to be seen in a big theatre. Not only for the action but also for its rich, triumphant score. C’mon, you know you want to. Savvy?