Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Between four and five stars. Far funnier and more playful than number one. I can't remember a time in a long time when I roared with laughter along with the whole cinema so hard that I had to wipe tears from my eyes, like when the main characters escape from the cannibals. The film has a slower pace in the beginning and has some passages that had me falling asleep (zero hours of sleep a night will have its share of that), but when the filmmakers put their minds to it, it's worth it. Some scenes are so rewarding that it goes to absurd lengths. Case in point, as the three main characters all fence against each other over the chest mentioned in the title, THEN Keira Knightley throws rocks at them, THEN behind her back two pirates are just now stealthily carrying the chest to the ship, THEN all the characters are still fighting over the key to the chest, and THEN some fishermen come out of the sea with the same goal. I'm not counting the continuation of the scene, where ON TOP OF THAT they add a mill wheel. For my part, I like that kind of bombastic playfulness, combined with Johnny Depp tickling my diaphragm again (maybe even more than in the first one), I'd really feel sorry about that four. (08/03/2006)

I understand the huge earnings, because it is precisely the kind of clearly outlined and technically perfectly arranged eye-candy entertainment tailor-made to a mainstream audience that wouldn’t go to the cinema without a large Coke and several tons of crunchy popcorn. However, with a cold feeling in my soul, I can say that the first installment is better, practically in every possible aspect. The sequel has one crucial problem: clutter; everything here is excessive. An unnecessarily overwrought story (especially the last approximately 45 minutes), too many jokes – and some situations are not explicitly comical – too many alternating locations, and too many visual effects, which are, of course, fantastic by themselves, but that is more or less an unwritten obligation in projects of this caliber. The characters are depicted the same way as in the first installment. Johnny Depp is excellent again, and this time Orlando Bloom is also good. The Kraken is a cool monster, and the make-up effects of the main villain are so captivating that it is hard to believe. There are several truly unforgettable scenes (the natives, Jack Sparrow pole jumping, the fight on the giant wheel, etc.), but unfortunately, the whole thing feels somewhat inconsistent, cynical, and above all, quite boring. Once is enough. (07/17/2006)

It's not Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman who cursed Captain Jack, it's the fat Disney purse from which Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest draws from the most. The result is a classic middle film, which does not have a properly designated beginning and end, which means that it feels rather cheerfully chaotic. The characters essentially do what they always do, they bounce here and there, there is constant tomfoolery, they entertain the spectators, they bring a new villain to the party, and when one feels in their bones that something memorable should finally start, Hans Zimmer blows the unforgettable pirate fanfare and sails to the port called "Part Number Three". The cheerful pile of Dead Man's Chest stories thus remains half open, half closed. It is certainly positive that, within the abilities of the screenwriter and the director, the characters develop, they profile themselves, that old animosities and friendships are not repeated, and that new friction and tension arise. Undoubtedly, the film has great effects, and Zimmer's music is also excellent. Those who are more sensitive will be provoked by the aforementioned lack of borders and playing for effect. But this spectacle is mainly about the effects, so why cry? Maybe because the film lacks gradation and brisk acceleration at certain moments. The fact that certain dialogues drag on like the Kraken's slime. That Johnny Depp uses his built-in grimace repertoire and his Jack is no longer the amazing centerpiece. That not all choreographies are as busy as the one on the mill wheel. The second film also caught the wind in its sails and took a gulp of good rum. Maybe the film got a little more serious and perhaps lost a bit of the mischief from the first film. And the film undoubtedly suffers from the syndrome of the middle part of the trilogy. [7/10] (08/15/2006)

Needless bombast and excessive length versus great sea monsters and a slimy (literally and to the letter!) villain played by Bill Nighy and his makeup/digital magicians. Johnny Depp is equally good, but he has nothing left to surprise us with. Throw out part of that storyline and cut the runtime down to 120 minutes, and this would be worthy of four stars. (08/07/2006)

In the wake of the more than solid part one, Jack Sparrow, excuse me, Captain Jack Sparrow doesn’t spoil his reputation, but nor does he improve it much. And in places this looks almost too much like a mundane feet-up blockbuster. Luckily the picture is stopped from sinking under the waters of the Caribbean (again) by Depp. Although the movie is tripped up significantly by the creators who try to include Jack in all possible situations. We get two really successful scenes (cannibal island and the sword-fight over the key to the treasure chest) filled with watchable stuffing, impressive production design and entertainment for the whole family, so the Buena Vista financial department will certainly be pleased. P.S. after watching again several years later: I liked it a lot better second time round. So much that most of my original objections no longer seemed to matter. (08/06/2006)