Underrated Gem

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2015)

The second installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, built upon premises set in the first film, is not a a continuation of the old story, but it sets out to tell a new one. Oftentimes, in the lore of adventure fantasy films, such a trait is met with disappointment. But not so with this one; Dead Man's Chest is a captivating, alluring and, coming out of the slightly fairly-tale air of its predecessor, pleasantly dark. The darkness issues from failed love, a man's inner torments which he wants to inflict upon others, and the visual gloom of the great ghost ship. Captain Jack Sparrow is as full of his paradoxical wits as ever. He is in his primes. We come to meet some of the aspects of his "truer" self which were too elaborate for the first film. Overall a tour de force of computer graphics and its manipulation to tell a human tale. Director Gore Verbinsky is masterful in telling his magical dark story. And without saying something about the soundtrack, all of this would be vain: the wrathful organ playing of Davy Jones is, in my opinion at least, one of the greatest pieces ever composed.