Overall Good, Heavy on the Plot

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 2006)

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing the next installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie is one of my favorites, so I have been eagerly anticipating what Disney and Bruckheimer would cook up with this franchise. When news came in that the movie may be so-so I was worried, however went into the packed theater with an open mind. While thoroughly entertaining, witty and enjoyable, the movie is very long, filled with filler fluff, and probably could have been cut down and combined with the third movie and made into one better film.
The plot is hard to describe in a few sentences, but basically Captain Jack Sparrow is back, and his life is in debt to the legendary Davey Jones, Captain of the Flying Dutchmen who are supernatural creatures who do underwater dirty work and are out for blood. Facing possible eternal damnation, Jack must save himself by calling on Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who have an obligation to come to Jack's aid. Unfortunately, their involvement causes them to miss their wedding day, and sends them into the high seas for danger and adventure.
In Dead Man's Chest we see a lot more character development of Will and especially Elizabeth as they go about their story lines and get tangled in the plot. The enrichment of their characters was a pleasant surprise for me because I wasn't expecting it. Everyone loves Jack Sparrow, but it was nice to see that the movie focused on them and wasn't only the 'Johnny Depp' show (although he pretty much steals the movie anyway, as predicted).
So what of the film? Extremely appealing, a loud, fun, summer 'popcorn' flick if you will, however inferior to the original in many ways. Overall very dark, with creepy characters and a LOT of plot to explain, the movie delves into the supernatural quickly and while very interesting, sometimes is too unbelievable. The good news is that it's quite funny and doesn't take itself too seriously. However, there is so much plot that I felt like I should have had a notebook to keep track of all the important elements. The overall artistic look and feel is mysterious and menacing, but could be considered scary for children or people like me :) Overall the CG was so-so and did not compare in any way to the original with had a much better villain and more interesting bad guys in general.
The main complaint I have with this film is that there are TONS of action sequences that are there for no reason other than to show more action and perhaps take up time. For example, the scenes involving Jack Sparrow and the natives could have completely been cut out, because they did virtually nothing for the plot. I sincerely think that this film could have wrapped itself up within one movie if unnecessary scenes had been cut; leaving only the parts that served the plot. Now there is going to be a third movie, probably with more action scenes, rather than one solid movie with a great script.
To wrap up, in order to enjoy the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the viewer must understand that the point is to have fun; therefore you must sit back, relax, and roll with it. If you are expecting an Oscar film, this ain't the place for you. If you've got that, then you will be all set for this movie. I honestly wish that Dead Man's Chest would have wrapped up much like the first one, however predictably now I can't wait to see the third one to see how the adventures conclude.
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