Arrgh! We Be Back for More!

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2006)

Today was to be the wedding day of Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner. But before the ceremony, the bride and groom are both arrested, by order of Lord Cutler Beckett. Elizabeth was clapped into jail, while Will was brought before Beckett. It seems they were incarcerated for aiding and abetting known pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. And since Will and Jack were so close, Beckett decided to strike a deal. He tells Will to seek out Jack Sparrow and acquire his compass, in exchange for freedom. Meanwhile, Captain Sparrow is reunited with Joshamee Gibbs and the rest of his crew aboard the Black Pearl. They were now in search of the greatest treasure in the history of the sea: a chest belonging to Davy Jones himself. But first, they must find one very crucial instrument to aide them in their quest: the key to unlock the chest. Later that night, Jack meets a suspicious stowaway. It was none other than the mutated form of "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, Will's lost father. Bill warns Jack of Davy Jones, as well as something far more deadly and dangerous...the biggest, nastiest, monster in the ocean: the Cracken.
After a long search, Will spies the Black Pearl aground on a tropical island. He goes ashore to investigate and finds Jack Sparrow had been taken in by a tribe of primitive warriors, who claim Jack is their god. Playing along, Jack has his men incarcerate Will into a hanging cage with the rest of his crew. It would appear Jack had it made, although he was unaware of the fate which was in store for him: the tribe was to release the god within by destroying his mortal exterior...Jack realized this by the time they tied him to a spit above what would soon be a roaring bonfire; Will, Gibbs and the rest of the men pool together to save themselves. It was a gracious effort, and a few men lost their lives, but finally they are free, and Jack also manages to free himself of his own dilemma, and after they reunite, climb aboard the Black Pearl and set sail, leaving behind a very angry and cheated tribe; Captain Jack wanted to continue his search for the key to Davy Jones' chest, so he seeks out his old, so-called friend: Tia Dalma. They find her in a secluded swamp. She tells them where to find the key: aboard Davy Jones' ship, The Flying Dutchman. So, they set out to find the Flying Dutchman, sticking to secluded waters, so as to avoid...The Cracken.
When they finally discover the Flying Dutchman, Will goes aboard alone to check it out first, when suddenly he's kidnapped by a motley crew of half-man, half-sea creatures, including ol' squid-head himself, Captain Davy Jones! It also seems Jack Sparrow has a debt with Jones that is yet to be settled: he owes him his soul. Jones tells Jack to bring him 99 additional souls so, while Will remains captive on the Dutchman, Jack, Gibbs and the Pearl crew venture to Tortuga, a seedy pirate hang out, to do some soul searching. Back on the Dutchman, Will is reunited with his father and, learns the secret of Davy Jones' chest: after a heart breaking relationship, Jones had actually cut out his heart and locked it into a chest. He who posses his heart can either kill Jones or control him. Will wanted to kill him, but Jack wanted the heart to control him; unbeknownst to the gang, Elizabeth had escaped from jail and had been following them the whole time; reunited, Will and Jack go after Davy Jones' chest. Unfortunately an old adversary of Jack's, Lord Norrington, was also after the chest, and so begins a three-way sword fight. Worse yet, Davy Jones and his gang of scurvy sea-dogs arrive too. Jack takes the key from Will, opens the chest and removes the heart. Norrington continues to battle Will and Jack and secretly swipes the heart, escapes Davy Jones and his crew, and delivers the heart to Lord Beckett! As for Davy Jones, he and his crew set sail aboard the Flying Dutchman with an empty chest; Jack, Will, Elizabeth and the Black Pearl crew set sail and soon find themselves wrapped in the tentacles of the hungry Cracken. They attempt to fight off the monster, but attempts proved futile. Elizabeth learned the monster was really after Jack, so she cuffs him to the mast and escapes with Will and the crew. As for Captain Jack Sparrow, he had put up a good fight, but in true hero fashion, he allowed himself, and the Pearl, to be taken... Will, Elizabeth, Gibbs and the crew lament over the loss of Jack and realize he was a decent man after all. They visit Tia Dalma again, who tells of a possible way to bring Jack back, but it would require sailing to the world's end. They were willing, so Dalma assigned a familiar captain to guide them. They couldn't believe who it was! To be continued...
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I think it was better than the first movie. It was funny and action-packed! Johnny Depp was fantastic as everybody's favorite fearless, poignant and naive pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom, great as Will. The incredibly sexy Keira Knightley shines as Elizabeth. We've also got Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, Jack Davenport as Norrington, and Stellan Skarsgard as Bootstrap Bill; Entertaining, funny, thrilling, but a tad violent for a Disney movie. It will make you greatly anticipate Pirates of the Caribbean 3, due next year. Will they be able to save Jack? And what of Davy Jones? Did Bootstrap Bill survive? So anyway, if you're looking for a swashbuckling, thrill ride to see this summer, then set sail with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest! I recommend it, mateys!