I was admittedly impressed with the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Disney taking attractions and turning them into films wasn’t exactly something that I was too keen on, especially when you take into consideration two very bad efforts, those being The Country Bears, very loosely based on The Country Bear Jamboree, and perhaps one of the greatest movie sins ever; The Haunted Mansion. The problem with Pirates however is that it brought the rogue swashbucklers back into everyone’s minds, not to mention that just about every woman on the face of the planet is now obsessed with one Captain Jack Sparrow.

What happens with just about every successful film (and those that aren’t); the studio decides that there needs to be a sequel, and these days, trilogies are big business. The question really isn’t if Pirates of the Caribbean needed a sequel or not so much as is it good? My first viewing of the film was a midnight screening, filled with people poorly dressed as pirate, plastic swords in hand, and in general, just an insult to the image of pirates in general. There was also the extremely overweight girl in our theater that decided to wear clothing that didn’t quite fit appropriately who exposed, though unintentionally, a good portion of her backside. Thus, the incident has been dubbed the “Kraken Sighting.” But, I wasn’t impressed with the film as much as I had hoped, though I think leaving the theater at 3 AM had a great deal to do with it, but regardless, another viewing of Dead Man’s Chest on DVD I thought would either make or break my final opinion.

Dead Man’s Chest is set after the events of the original film, though the exact time isn’t quite exact, but what we do learn immediately is that there was to be a wedding between William Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), at least until Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) arrives in Port Royal and has the pair arrested on grounds of aiding and abetting Captain Jack Sparrow. The punishment is to be death at the gallows, but Beckett offers a solution. He wants will to find Sparrow and obtain a certain compass. In exchange, not only do Will and Elizabeth get their freedom, but Jack as well, and employment as a privateer for the crown as well.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) meanwhile has problems of his own. Thirteen years ago he made a deal with the devil so to speak. Jack’s ship, the Black Pearl, once lay at the bottom of the ocean, but he had Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) raise the ship with a certain agreement; Jack would be captain of the ship for thirteen years and at the end of that time, he would become a crew member of Jones’ ship, the Flying Dutchman, for one hundred. Jack is trying to find any way out that he can, even taking to selling poor Will out, but he also knows of a key. This mysterious key belongs to a chest that is said to hold the heart of Jones, a great bargaining chip with yet another problem; there are others looking for it as well.

In retrospect, and after another viewing, Dead Man’s Chest really isn’t quite as long as I had thought. Curse of the Black Pearl, the first film in the trilogy, ran at 143 minutes whereas Dead Man’s Chest is just slightly shorter at 151, but it seems that this really isn’t what caused me to dislike the film in the first place. To begin with, there is far too much going on, too many plots and subplots, and many of them really don’t begin to come to light until the final 20 minutes or so of the film. Will’s appearance and reunion with Jack is quickly cast aside as he is placed in servitude of Jones, but it is there that Will meets his father, “Bootstrap Bill” Turner (Stellan Skarsgård) who was mentioned in the original film. How did he get on Jones’ ship? That’s one of the inconsistencies of the film I suppose. Jones and his crew usually show to when a ship is badly damaged and the crew about to perish thus offering them a choice; die or serve the crew. Turner on the other hand was sent to the oceans depths and found salvation with Jones rather than face death. Never mind the impossibilities of it all, and Dead Man’s Chest really does enjoy playing with several impossibilities in the film outside of this one. I know, it’s just fantasy, but still, I do enjoy some things being fairly accurate, and that isn’t something the script wants to use. (Of note, there is reference to walking the plank which pirates seldom used, instead relying on some more cruel forms of torture like keelhauling.)

So, while Will and his dad get reacquainted, Elizabeth is freed by her father and escapes Port Royal with another ship, but she manages to somehow successfully fool everyone on board into thinking that she’s a young boy. While it wasn’t uncommon in these days to actually find woman onboard ships, Elizabeth just sticks out too much, even with her disguise. She eventually finds herself face-to-face with her former fiancée, James Norrington (Jack Davenport) who has fallen on hard times after loosing his post, and the two also find themselves in the presence of Jack Sparrow. The past is the past I guess, and the two gladly sign on with him, though Jack is trying to find 100 souls to weasel his way out of the deal with Jones.

Yeah, there’s a lot going on, and again, too many ideas thrown in. Just when you think that there can’t be any more added in, low and behold, yet another idea is tossed into the mix. The movie also really enjoys just playing on the popularity of the Jack Sparrow character. We get a lot of nonsensical double talk and bumbling for comic relief. It also seems that someone working on the script loved the idea of things rolling, and you’ll find two different instances of the characters involved in some variation. In fact, maybe one of the writers might own hamsters as one point in the film finds Will and the crew of the Black Pearl fleeing in a cage that is equal to a plastic ball, another time we find Jack, Will, and Norrington inside (and on top of) a water wheel, but it’s some much like an exercise wheel it’s ridiculous.

The big claim to fame in the film, and the thing that everyone dreads, is the Kraken. Sure, there’s the strange, undead crew of Jones’ camp who all resemble some kind of salt water creature for one reason or another (and we never learn the reason) but they aren’t anything when you bring in a giant octopus. The Kraken actually is one of the high points of the movie, and the computer animation is done quite well throughout much of its brief appearance, save for one final moment where Jack encounters the foul beast face-to-mouth, and some bad green screen makes the Kraken seem all too fake. The film actually has a lot of good CG, but that really can’t make up for a script that really does want to travel the seven seas as much as the pirates in the film.

Dead Man’s Chest, the two-disc version, contains over five hours of bonus features. One the first DVD you will find the option to watch the film with commentary by two of the writers of the film, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. There is also a short blooper reel that does have a few rather humorous scenes. This is only the beginning of the booty that you’ll find here, and the second disc is all bonus material. Charting the Return is an in-depth look at how the second film came into being, not to mention some of the difficulties of trying to make not one, but two movies. While this feature runs close to 30 minutes, the next one of the disc, According to Plan, is over an hour of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew of Dead Man’s Chest. Remember, both sequels were filmed back-to-back and the principal shooting for the film was slated at 200 days, but I wouldn’t say that is necessarily a bad thing considering some of the exotic locations that were chosen.

For any fan of Jack Sparrow, there is a Jack Sparrow: Head-to-Toe interactive bonus section. Here you will find a drawing of the infamous pirate with different sections that can be accessed. For example, clicking on Jack’s head will zoom in where you can get more information on the dreads, the bandana, or any number of other features that make up Sparrow, and they all have stories. Dead Man’s Chest features quite a few sword battles, and Mastering the Blade features three shorts with Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport that showcases their training in swordplay.

You can’t forget that there are villains running amuck in the film, and the extra features look at the dastardly Davy Jones. It’s really interesting to see scenes stripped away, layer by layer to see that while Jones and his crew might be comprised of a great deal of computer animation, there are people underneath all of it. Most of the magic is revealed here, and the same is true of the Kraken. The Creating the Kraken feature looks at how the mythical beast was brought to life through computer animation.

As just about everyone know, Disney decided to update the ride at Disneyland as well as Disneyworld with new set dressing, new effects, and the addition of characters from the film. The opinions of fans are very divided on this, but there is a special feature that looks at the creation of the latest additions into Pirates of the Caribbean, though the 3D Davy Jones effect wasn’t detailed (which is a bit disappointing.) The DVD also features a short featuring the bone cage sequence from the cannibal island, and once again we see how modern movie magic can bring anything to life and make it seem all too real. There is also a photo diary with pictures taken by Mr. Bruckheimer accompanied by some video and explanation. Finally, there’s a short that gives you a look at the premier of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, something that both Aaron and myself had talked attending, but decided that we didn’t want to pay the price for attendance (though I guess had we really thought about it, we could have simply went as press.) But wait, what’s this I see? Most people AREN’T dressed as cheesy pirates? Hmmm . . . now I wish I would have went (it must just be an Oregon thing.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest isn’t quite as good as the original, but having watched the film now for a second time, my dislike for it wasn’t quite as high as it initially was. But, it really doesn’t matter what I think, the fact is that Dead Man’s Chest will see millions of copies on DVD as for this reviewer, I just hope that the final film really becomes the pinnacle of the series.

-mike-
 

Directed by: Gore Verbinski   Written by: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio    Cast: Johnny Depp Orlando Bloom Keira Knightley Bill Nighy Stellan Skarsgård Jack Davenport Kevin McNally Jonathan Pryce Tom Hollander Naomie Harris

DVD Features:  Disc 1 Audio: English, Spanish & French 5.1 Dolby Digital English, Spanish & French Subtitles Special Features: Commentary w/ Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio Bloopers of the Caribbean Disc 2 Special Features: Charting the Return (Making of Feature) According to Plan (Making of Feature) Captain Jack: From Head to Toe Mastering the Blade (Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley & Jack Davenport) Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend Creating the Kraken Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction Fly of the Set: The Bone Cage Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer’s Photo Diary Pirates on Main Street: The Dead Man’s Chest Premier