Jack's back... Yo ho!!!!!

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2006)

Ah, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was a wonderful film. It successfully resurrected the swashbuckler genre, became one of the highest-grossing movies of 2003 and received five Oscar nominations, including, for the first time, Best Actor for Johnny Depp (apparently, the Academy didn't notice three previous gems such as Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Donnie Brasco), who turned from indie poster-boy to Hollywood superstar. Oh yes, POTC was a great movie. And now the pirates have returned, bigger, but not always better, than ever!
This time, everybody's in trouble. Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth's (Keira Knightley) wedding day is ruined by the arrival of Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), a very unpleasant man who's been sent to arrest them for helping the notorious pirate Jack Sparrow, I'm sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow, escape from hanging. The couple's only chance to get a full pardon is to steal Jack's compass, which will lead Becket to the Dead Man's Chest, an object that gives its owner the power to control the sea. Jack (Johnny Depp), on the other hand, has gotten himself in an even worse situation. You see, in order to become captain of the Black Pearl, he made a deal with the demonic Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Now, thirteen years later, the Scottish pirate wants Jack to pay his debt, meaning our hero is supposed to serve on ghost-vessel The Flying Dutchman for 100 years. Unless Jack can get out of this mess, of course. Hence the need to retrieve the aforementioned chest...
Now, let's be honest. Pirates didn't need a sequel, since everything ended so perfectly and everyone got what he/she wanted. But who cares, when the continuation is, for the most part, a fun ride? Director Gore Verbinski and screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio have returned to familiar territory and expanded the mythology, creating a fascinating world which fuses elements of Indiana Jones and Star Wars (DMC has plenty of references to The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, not to mention a threesome sword-fight that will make The Phantom Menace eat its heart out). And while they introduce new locations (a stunning cannibal island) and new threats (the half squid, half crab Jones, his "fishy" crew and his pet sea monster, the Kraken), they don't forget our old friends on the way. Supporting characters such as Commodore Norrington and the comic duo Pintel & Ragetti are given more space, while the protagonists carry the story without disappointing us. Will is still an honorable man, driven by love towards his fiancée and forced to deal with his father, "Bootstrap" Bill (a very human Stellan Skarsgård), who turns out to be not only alive, but also a member of Davy Jones' crew. Elizabeth still seeks adventure as well as a peaceful life with her man. The pirates are still a bunch of stinking rascals, and Jack... well, he's Jack! Constantly unreliable but charismatic, he steals the entire movie with no effort at all (although he has less screen-time than expected). From the moment he first shows up, you know you're in for something absolutely unforgettable. His performance is zany and brilliant enough to make the very long running time (two and a half hours) and occasional far-fetched twists seem less irritating than they should be.
If you loved the first movie, you just can't miss Dead Man's Chest. It may not be as fresh and well-crafted as its predecessor, but it is a good piece of entertainment and should raise expectations regarding the upcoming number 3.
6,5/10