Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Produced by
 Written by
 Starring
Orlando Bloom
Keira Knightley
Bill Nighty
Tom Hollander
 Music by
Hans Zimmer
 Editors
 Cinematography
 Studios
 Distributors
 Release date (s)
 Language
 Preceded by
 Followed by

***Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest*** is a 2006 American adventure fantasy comedy film and the second film of the *Pirates of the Caribbean* series, following *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (2003). It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. In the film, the marriage of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckket (Tom Hollander), who wants Turner to acquire Sparrow's compass, and Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) discovers his debt to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) is due.

Two sequels to *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* were conceived in 2004, with Elliott and Rossio developing a story arc that would span both films. Filming took place from February to September 2005 in Palos Verdes, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and The Bahamas, as well as on sets constructed at Walt Disney Studios. It was shot back-to-back with the third film of the series, *At World's End*.

*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* was released in the United States on July 7, 2006. The film received mixed to positive reviews, with praise for its special effects and criticism for its plot and running time. Despite this, it set several records in its first three days, with an opening weekend of $136 million in the United States, and it was, at the time, the fastest film ever to gross over $1 billion in the worldwide box office. As of January 2013, it ranks as the 9th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide and held the record as the highest-grossing film by Walt Disney Pictures for nearly six years until it was surpassed by *The Avengers*. The film received four Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and won the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

## Synopsis

Charming rogue pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back for a grand, swashbuckling, nonstop joyride filled with devilish pirate humor, monstrous sea creatures, and breathtaking black magic. Now Jack's got a blood debt to pay—he owes his soul to the legendary Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), ghostly Ruler of the Ocean Depths— but the ever so crafty Jack isn't about to go down without a fight. Along the way, dashing Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the beautiful Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) get up in the thrilling whirlpool of misadventures stirred up in Jack's quest to avoid eternal damnation by seizing the fabled Dead Man's Chest!

## Plot

The wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who has arrest warrants for them after they aided Captain Jack Sparrow escaping execution a year ago, and one for Commodore James Norrington, for delaying the pursuit of Sparrow, but he resigned from his position and disappeared months prior. Elizabeth is imprisoned, and Beckett sends Will to find Jack's magic compass, which points to whatever the holder wants the most at the time, in exchange for Letters of Marque which will make Jack a British privateer and ensure Will and Elizabeth's pardon. Shortly after Will leaves, Governor Swann, Elizabeth's father, tries to flee Port Royal with her, but he is arrested by Beckett's aide Mercer. Beckett reluctantly allows Elizabeth to go after Will with the Letters of Marque, which she does by stowing away on a Scottish merchant vessel, the *Edinburgh Trader*.

Jack escapes from a Turkish prison after acquiring a drawing of a key he desires, but his compass continually fails to provide him a heading. On the *Black Pearl*, Jack reunites with Will's father Bootstrap Bill, who joined the crew of Davy Jones to escape from being trapped in the seabed. Bootstrap reminds Jack of his own deal he made with Jones thirteen years ago to raise the *Black Pearl* from the depths, and now he must either join his crew or be dragged to Jones’ Locker by a sea monster, the Kraken, serving as his pet. Panicked, Jack takes the ship to land but ends up attacked and captured by the island's native cannibals. Will arrives on the island and is taken captive by cannibals, but he and surviving crew members escape to the *Black Pearl* with Jack, joined by Pintel and Ragetti. The crew visit voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, who reveals the key to unlock the Dead Man's Chest, in which Jones placed his own heart after feeling betrayed by his lover, the sea goddess Calypso. Tia Dalma tells Jack where to find Jones’ ship — the *Flying Dutchman* — and gives him a jar of dirt as a defense against Jones, who cannot step on land but once every 10 years.

Jack tricks Will onto a shipwreck, only for the actual *Flying Dutchman* to emerge from the ocean and take Will prisoner. Jones confronts Jack, who makes a deal to break his blood debt, if he brings Jones one hundred souls in three days but Will has to stay on the *Dutchman*. Bootstrap helps Will escape the ship with the key. Will promises to use the heart to free Bootstrap. Jack goes to Tortuga to recruit new crewmates, meeting Elizabeth and Norrington, who has become a drunkard. Both of them join the *Black Pearl*. Jack realizes that if Beckett gains Jones’ heart, he can rule the seas. Norrington eavesdrops, planning to get the heart in order to regain his life and honour. Will hitches a ride on the *Edinburgh Trader*, but Jones discovers the theft of the key and summons the kraken to destroy the Scottish ship, realising that Jack is after his chest.

All parties arrive on Isla Cruces, but a three-way sword fight breaks out between Jack, Will and Norrington to pursue their own goals, while Jones’ crew attack Elizabeth, Pintel, and Ragetti. In the chaos, Jack unlocks the chest, removes the heart, and hides it in the jar of dirt, only for Norrington to steal it and pretend to sacrifice himself by drawing the *Dutchman* crew off with the chest. Jack, Will, Elizabeth and the *Black Pearl* crew are confronted by the *Flying Dutchman* but the *Black Pearl* outruns it. Jones summons the Kraken, which traps the *Black Pearl*. Jack discovers that the heart is missing and abandons his crew, but returns when he sees the Kraken destroying the ship, wounding the Kraken with a net full of explosives. Jack orders the survivors to abandon the ship, but he is chained to the mast by Elizabeth realising that the Kraken is only after Jack for his unpaid blood debt to Jones. After they leave, Jack manages to free himself from the chain, but is dragged into Davy Jones' Locker along with the *Pearl*.

Jones fails to find his heart, and shouts in frustration. Norrington reaches Port Royal, presenting the heart to Beckett, thereby betraying the entire British Empire. Will, Elizabeth, Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty and Cotton return to Tia Dalma, who asks if they wish to rescue Jack from the locker. When they agree, Tia Dalma says they will need a captain who is familiar with those waters, and to their surprise it is a resurrected Captain Barbossa.

In the post credits scene, The dog is now the leader of the cannibals.