Quite different from the original.

Rating: 7/10 (6 August 2006)

Nobody expected the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie to do well. After all, it was a movie based on a Disney theme park ride, opening in the middle of the summer , starring Johnny Depp as a pirate and some British virtually-unknowns in the supporting cast. But against all odds, it went on to make over $300 million dollars at the US box office alone, spawning two sequels and a pop-culture phenomenon.
I went into the theater expecting a fun, light-hearted romp much along the lines of the first film. I was surprised, but not entirely disappointed.
The major problem with Dead Man's Chest is that it takes itself far too seriously. The spoofy, almost campy quality that made Black Pearl so fun is gone, replaced with generous amounts of CGI fighting and backstory. When we leave the theater, we feel as if we've seen half of a Lord of the Rings or Narnia style-movie that takes place at sea.
As for the acting, Johnny Depp is as drunk and delightful as ever in the role of (Captain) Jack Sparrow. You can really tell how much he's enjoying himself and just having a good time, something that his co-stars don't seem to be doing. Orlando Bloom as Will Turner is as stiff and wooden as ever, and although his lady love Keira Knightly (Elizabeth Swan) shows more signs of life, her dress seems to get more screen time than she does. The newcomers don't fare any better, Davy Jones (can't remember the guy's name) and Bootstrap Bill (ditto)seem perfectly happy wallowing in their angst in a movie that doesn't need any more angst than the script gives it.
Speaking of the script, all I can say is, move a bit faster. Dead Man's Chest seems quite long for its two and a half hours, and the fact that the first hour or so of it doesn't advance the plot hardly at all doesn't help. The movie doesn't resolve itself either, basically ending with "Oh, Jack's dead! Let's resurrect Barbossa. The End . . . for now!"
All in all, go into this movie expecting a decently plotted but overlong and overserious action-adventure. Johnny Depp is excellent, not much else is.