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

The general consensus amongst moviegoers is that the first Pirates of the Caribbean film is a wonderfully made, fun adventure flick with great characters, a compelling story, and all the swashbuckling action you'd want in a movie about pirates. However, the consensus goes on to state that the films progressively get worse or, according to some, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels are hot garbage. While I wholeheartedly agree with the mass majority of people regarding their opinions on the first film, as it is my favourite movie ever made, I refused to believe that the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels were bad movies.

This movie came out when I was 11 and my hype for this movie was off the charts. I remember to this day walking around Whistler Village in BC and seeing an advertisement for this movie in the local theatre and I couldn't even comprehend my excitement. After watching it, I was in love. The action sequences were fantastic and to tell you the honest truth, even today I still think they are breathtaking even to this day. The escape in the round bone cages on the cannibal-inhabited island, the sword fights between Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and James Norrington on the water well wheel, and the Kraken scenes are still some of the best action sequences I have ever seen. However, and it pains me to say this, but this film and especially the sequels are nowhere near as good as the first movie and I start to see the flaws. So let's start with the story, shall we?

In the first film, the story was pretty simple. A bunch of pirates are attempting to lift a deadly curse and our heroes, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, are caught up in the adventure along with the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Notice how I said, "along" with? Well, I mention that because although Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are brought back for the next two sequels, the focus of the story becomes Jack Sparrow. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jack Sparrow, but I really do believe that he works better as a supporting character. I find it much more interesting and compelling when Jack Sparrow is a proactive character rather than a reactive character. Basically, in the first movie, it was his actions that dictated where the story would go and what would happen to the characters around him. Here, and especially as the story goes onto other movies, it's the opposite. Jack Sparrow is only reacting to things happening around him and he isn't controlling situations which made the first film so enjoyable. Here, he is being hunted down by Davy Jones and his crew aboard The Flying Dutchman which, I'll be completely honest, is a great villain. He has a wonderful design, he is menacing with his demeanor and his accent, and he has the Kraken. I always say that if you are wondering or are unsure how our heroes will be able to defeat the villain, then you have yourself a good villain and it adds suspense to the story.

So the plot is that apparently, Davy Jones raised the Black Pearl from the bottom of the sea for Jack Sparrow and that he could captain it for about a decade before Jack Sparrow would have to serve under Davy Jones for 100 years. If not, then Davy Jones will send his ship-destroying monster, the Kraken, after him. Great. A simple story I can get behind. However, we bring back Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann who, don't me wrong, are likable characters in their own right, but their stories ended in the last movie. They didn't need to be brought back. But since they are back, this means that we get more plot lines, more double crosses, and more characters to keep track of including James Norrington from the first movie. It's also so complicated and unnecessary that it makes your head hurt. Add on top of that are scenes that don't add to the story (even though that cannibal island portion of the movie is fun and exciting, from a story standpoint it is unnecessary), plot details that are inconsistent, and overall, the story gets just a little sloppy. However, aside from all of that, the stuff that is good is really really good. The top-notch action sequences with some impressive CGI along with Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones and a hint of childhood nostalgia still makes this an entertaining watch. The sequel, however, is undeserving of the same praise.