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Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is a spectacular summer romp loaded to the gunwales with dazzling effects, breathless action, sexy posturing and loads of jokes.
But it also suffers from the storytelling malady that afflicts the middle film of most true trilogies: The element of surprise and seduction is gone with the end of the first instalment — and you have to wait until the final saga for the resolution of the elaborate plot.
So the middle instalment, like a child who sees an elder sibling favoured and a younger one coddled, operates in the murky middle. It ends with with the Black Pearl sunk, several key characters in dire peril and everything hanging on the edge of the abyss. It will be life or death ... in the next sequel.
Given that caveat, Dead Man’s Chest is a splendid time-waster. In terms of plot, it dabbles in history lessons about the British East India Trading Co. and then mucks about with glee. Finally, there is a splendid shocker at the end of its rambling 150 minutes that suggests that Pirates 3 will blow with gale-force winds.
Dead Man’s Chest is the comedy before the storm. Thankfully, it operates at a high level of quality control. All the key cast & crew have returned. Behind the camera, they include producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. All are richer for making two sequels no one expected when Pirates Of The Caribbean originally morphed from a Disney theme park ride into a hybrid pirate/ghost movie.
On screen, Johnny Depp reprises his scallywag role as Captain Jack Sparrow, the anti-hero whose salty brine was a thing of beauty. He earned an Oscar nom for his efforts, that unique combination of filth and finesse, of cowardice and bravado, of wickedness and wit. Depp made it all lovable. It is no different this time, although no one, especially Depp, anticipates another Oscar nod.
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As sidekicks, the romantic team of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are back, too. Hero-boy Bloom is proud of his black boots and cocky swagger; lithe lass Knightley is out of her hoop skirts and also into pirate garb.
Other significant roles are played by Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport, Tom Hollander, clowns Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook, and Stellan Skarsgard as Bloom’s long-lost pirate pappy. Striking newcomer Naomie Harris appears as a sorceress who will be crucial in Pirates 3. The filmmakers give her rotten teeth, a tattooed face and a vocal growl, but she is still a sexy siren who commands the screen.
Then there is Bill Nighy, unrecognizable but wildly effective. In an octopussy incarnation that must be seen to be believed, he plays a monstrous version of Davy Jones, the mythical sailor of Locker infamy. In this fantastical tale, Jones helms another mythical entity, the Flying Dutchman.
As much fun as it is to see familiar faces and a few new ones, the stakes on Dead Man’s Chest were raised in terms of budget, too. The movie is wall-to-wall special effects, often on a staggering scale, such as the appearance of Davy Jones’ giant sea serpent, not to mention his scurvy critter-crew.
But there is also time and care taken to let the human characters live and breathe, whore and fight, quibble and quip. After all, without all those sarcastic asides from Captain Jack Sparrow blowing hot air into the billowing sails of his ships, Pirates Of The Caribbean wouldn’t move at all.
BOTTOM LINE
Sailors’ delight. But also take warning, the cliffhanger storyline could prompt you to walk the plank, if you’re not patient enough to wait until 2007.
(This film is rated PG)