A good, fun summer movie

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2006)

I admit that when I first heard that there was going to be a movie based on Pirates of the Caribbean, I was skeptical. I just couldn't figure out why everyone was getting so excited over a pirate movie based on a theme park ride. My attitude changed when I finally saw the movie. Not only did it deliver one of the most memorable film characters I've seen in a long time in Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, it turned out to be the kind of fun adventure movie I used to watch when I was a kid. Despite all the state-of-the-art special effects it was the kind of swash-buckling pirate movie that they just don't make anymore. Needless to say I was much more excited about the sequel, and while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the original, it's still the kind of fun adventure movie that should be released in the summer season.
The movie picks up shortly after the end of the first one. Jack Sparrow is the captain of the Black Pearl, and Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann (the other, less memorable heroes from the first film) are arrested for aiding in his escape from the hangman's noose. They face a death sentence, but the charges against them and Jack will be dropped if Will manages to find Jack and bring his apparently magical compass back to a cruel and manipulative government official. Meanwhile, Jack has his own plans: it turns out that he owes his soul to Davy Jones, the devil of the sea himself. He may need his compass to locate Jones's treasure chest (the "Dead Man's Chest" of the title), the contents of which may be the key to freeing himself from his debt. I really can't say much more than that without giving too much away, but let's just say that soon everyone has their own plans for the chest, and they'll stop at nothing to get it.
The plot does get rather convoluted at times, which is the main reason why I liked the first "Pirates" better, it still works for two main reasons. First of all, it never really takes itself seriously enough to interfere with the spirit of the film. It definitely takes things into darker territory than the first film, and it allows for some good character development, but the film never forgets that it's supposed to be fun above everything else (the film even makes a joke about momentarily stopping the action to explain the story so far). Secondly, it allows the character to act exactly how pirates are supposed to act. Jack Sparrow may be capable of acting the hero, but as a pirate he can also be an untrustworthy, thieving, backstabber who would betray his own friends to save his own skin. Remarkably, this doesn't make him any less likable; his behavior as well as the behavior of others is treated as simply the way pirates are supposed to act. They're only loyal as long as it serves their purpose, and some backstabbing is all but expected in their world. This kind of moral ambiguity fits the theme of the film perfectly, and I for one am glad the filmmakers recognized this.
As with most sequels, there's not much I can say about the acting that hasn't been said in the first movie. Once again, Johnny Depp steals the show as Captain Jack Sparrow. As I said before, he's more morally ambiguous this time around, but it works incredibly well for his character. He also seems to engage in a bit more slapstick, which I'm not a fan of unless it's pulled off really well. Fortunately, Depp pulls it all off incredibly well. Just as before, his Jack Sparrow is something of a bumbling fool, but the fact that he always manages to escape any situation due to luck or a sudden feat of swashbuckling heroism (or both) makes him into a legend in his own mind. The other leads are good enough, but this is definitely Jack Sparrow's movie.
The film also provides a great villain in Davy Jones. In addition to being a great CGI creation (his squid-face often looks more like a very lifelike mask), he has considerably more depth than one would expect from a summer movie villain. He's a ruthless, fearsome, and as frightening as a good villain should be, but one expects that he was not always this way. There's a sadness to his character that suggests that he many not be as evil as he first appears to be. I definitely want to see what happens with his character in part three.
The action scenes have about the same feeling as the first film with one exception: the first film didn't have a Kraken. It seems that just about every other movie has some kind of CGI monster in it somewhere, and they're rarely that impressive to me anymore, but the Kraken (basically a giant squid capable of dragging an entire ship under water within minutes) somehow succeeds where other monsters fail. Maybe it's because we don't really see much of the beast aside from a number of tentacles smashing apart ships, or perhaps it's the feeling of impending doom as it's attacking the heroes in the climactic battle scene, but the Kraken manages to be as scary and impressive as a good sea monster should be. As for the Kraken-free action sequences, the best would have to be an inventive (and funny) three-way sword fight in which the combatants end up on top of a runaway water mill wheel.
As I said before, while I didn't think "Dead Man's Chest" was as enjoyable as the first movie, there's still a lot to love here. It does require some knowledge of the first film to truly enjoy it, but that's the case with most sequels. This one is definitely worth checking out.