Saturday, December 09, 2006

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

I'd really been looking forward to the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on DVD. I even considered seeing it in the theater--briefly--but I think I had a book due...or something. I'm glad now that I waited for DVD.

This story opens with Will and Elizabeth being arrested on their wedding day for freeing Captain Jack Sparrow in the first movie. The bad guy is a lord who's part of the East India Trading Company and he offers Will a deal, but to free himself and Elizabeth, he'll have to find Jack and get his compass. Easier said than done since Jack is in trouble with more than a few people, including cannibals and Davy Jones. (Not Davy Jones the fabulous member of The Monkees, but Davy Jones, the scourge of sailors. :-) I just wanted to be clear.) The rest of the movie involves the search for a chest that everyone seems to want.

So what didn't I like? I didn't think this kracken beast thing that attacked on the orders of Davy Jones was all that interesting a plot device and it seemed to keep showing up over and over and over again. It also seemed as if they kept showing Davy Jones's henchmen calling the kracken over and over. I felt like, okay, already, we get it, let's move on.

The other thing I didn't like was how they ended the movie. I knew it would be a cliffhanger because I heard talk when Dead Man's Chest came out, but I figured it wouldn't be that big a deal. It was. I would have preferred they shoot it as three stand alone movies, or maybe put a plot arc over them, but wrap up the main story. They didn't and I'll have to wait now for Pirates Three to find out what happened.

Things I did like about the movie--Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. How can any woman go wrong staring at those two guys for a couple of hours? Orlando looked hotter in this movie than he did in the first, IMO, but Johnny Depp is still the hottest. I always used to think he was too pretty when he was younger, but now that he's older--oooh, baby!

While I didn't like the cliffhanger ending, I did like who they had show up at the very end. Way cool! That alone will impel me to see Pirates Three when it comes out.

Overall, I thought Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was okay, but that it lacked the charm and humor of the first one. I didn't find anything particularly wrong with it, it just didn't excite me and enchant me like Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl did.

The move is worth watching just to look at Johnny and Orlando and there are worse ways to while away a couple of hours.

3.5 stars

5 comments:

Christie Craig said...

Patti,

I agree with you. I actually went to see the movie with a friend and when my husband asked if I'd go see it with him again, I said, I suggested he wait until it came out on video.

The movie had some cool effects, but they got old fast and I didn't feel as if the whole plot mesmerized like the first did.

And I was really disappointed with the ending. I don't mind cliffhangers that encourage you to see the next film, (or buy the next book) but the way they handled it, made the story feel unfinished.

Personally, I’m not a big lover of book series that leave too many loose ends to tie up in the next book. I like a beginning, middle, and an end. And I want my end to be satisfying.

CC

Lois Winston said...

When POTC2 came out, quite a few critics complained about it. They felt the movie had a lot of padding in order to make a trilogy and that it would have been better if they had done a sequel and left it at that. After reading review after review that said the same thing, I decided to wait until I could Netflix the second movie. Now I'm thinking I should move it lower on my queu.

Kelly McClymer said...

I agree with you...sort of. I'm glad I watched it, even though I was desperate to know what happened next when the credits started to roll. There are a lot of good story elements in here, especially for romance loving viewers (I won't say too much, so I don't spoil things for those who haven't seen it). The whole debt that Jack owes Davy Jones and wants to squirrel out of was worked well, I thought (especially given Jack's rascally nature).

I thought Elizabeth was totally underused and directed to do things that were...dare I say TSTL?

That said, can't wait for three to arrive, and I'm sure I'll get the three-DVD set when it is available.

Kelly

Anonymous said...

I guess I'm different -- I loved the second one... I liked the humor (though some was so subtle many missed it -- I was the only one laughing at the reference to the cause for Jack's black and hairy palm!) I enjoyed the setup for the conclusion and have some suspicions about how it will play.

I am not an Orlando fan at all - he still looks like he's 12 and where are all the muscles he should have if he's a working blacksmith??? Johnny Depp finally hit sexy in this role when Elizabeth kissed him....

Well, I saw it three times in the theater and found something each time I'd missed before so I'm looking forward to watching it again...on DVD..

Terri B

Nancy Morse said...

I saw the first one and was surprised that I actually enjoyed it as much as I did. But then, I love Johnny Depp. And speaking of movies, my husband and I recently went to see Casino Royale. Now, I'm not really a James Bond fan. I did see one or two eons ago when Sean Connery was 007, and didn't go for all the gimmicky stuff. But this one was different and I loved it. And Daniel Craig? Be still my heart. I don't usually go for blonds but this guy had my pulse racing. At one point, my husband turned to me and whispered, "He's a good looking guy, isn't he?" I played it cool, of course, and mumbled something back like, "Oh, he's all right,if you like that type." Yeah, right, the strong, fearless, reckless, handsome, body like a Greek god type.