Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Confusing, muddled, and overly long, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest somehow still manages to be a touch better than its predecessor and quite a bit of fun. Gore Verbinski continues Disney’s saga based on a theme park ride, doubling up on the effects and high seas adventure found in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Let’s be clear: the Pirates film franchise is one born out of Disney executive marketing, a theme park ride, and blockbuster action with effects. It really has no business being the least bit artistic, even down to Johnny Depp’s fun but overrated portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. This is a film franchise couched in marketing opportunities and loud, flashy stuff. The potential for fun is high, but at the end of the day Verbinski’s little series is quite meaningless.

Dead Man’s Chest was shot back-to-back with the third film in the franchise during 2005 and faced a 2006 theatrical release. The Pirates franchise certainly lacks the meticulousness and slow building drama of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings saga, of course, but it’s hard to reach such heights when there are so many limitations in the way. For one thing, Pirates doesn’t have much story to speak of. Plots seem carved up in boardrooms with the goal of effects-driven sequences in mind. Ideas came first, with storylines sculpted as loose structures to prop up the CGI and make-up segments.

With a structure designed exclusively to look and feel good based on market research, the Pirates franchise is a lot like a Big Mac. Happily, Dead Man’s Chest succeeds reasonably well at its task but remains ultimately unsatisfying. And, like a Big Mac, some things about Dead Man’s Chest are simply better left in mystery. There’s not much sense in asking about various plot holes or confounding sequences, just as there’s no much sense in asking about seemingly superfluous scenes or meaningless overtures.

Depp is back as Captain Jack Sparrow, of course, and that again is probably the best and most overrated thing about these franchises. We find Sparrow in the middle of the action, as per usual. The East India Trading Company has arrived in Jamaica and wants to extend its monopoly, purging piracy from its waters. Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) has shown up to lead the charge for the company and he wants to have Captain Jack Sparrow arrested and recruited to join as a privateer. He also wants Davy Jones’ heart, which will grant him dominion over the seas.

Beckett has arrested Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), threatening to execute them. He offers clemency, however, if Will agrees to help bring in Sparrow and his magic compass. Will agrees and heads off on an adventure that leads him to a cannibal-infested island, his father, and the Black Pearl. There is also Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) to contend with, as Sparrow owes him a blood debt.

As with The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest could use a heavier hand in the editing room. There are a few sequences that could have been smashed down or refocused entirely to give the film a much less convoluted flow. Some of the effects are impressive, but this really is C-grade stuff and it feels quite rushed. There are some shots of the monstrous Kraken, for instance, that just look embarrassing.

The character/creature of Davy Jones is decent enough, though. Nighy wore a motion capture suit to get the part down and, while it doesn’t always look seamless or crisp, his character is the best effects-based creation in the entire film and perhaps the series. Still, the lacklustre effects had me thinking twice about Industrial Light and Magic. The effects from Indy 4, also by ILM, were similarly underwhelming.

Verbinski does manage to pull together a relatively fun little piece of escapism despite some obvious glaring problems, however, and the second film in the Pirates franchise winds up being considerably entertaining once it all finally gets going. Like the first picture, Dead Man’s Chest would have benefited by being about an hour shorter. But it is, in many ways, a superior film to The Curse of the Black Pearl and leaves a lot waiting to be answered in the third movie.

Trailer: