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Just as the wedding of Elizabeth
Swann (Keira Knightly) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is about to take place, the couple is arrested for helping a convicted pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) evade his sentence.
With Elizabeth in jail Will negotiates with Commander Norrington who tells him that in exchange for Elizabeth's freedom, he has to get Sparrow's compass. Will locates Jack Sparrow and gets involved in Jack's misadventures. Jack owes a blood debt to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) one of the living dead and monster-faced Captain of the ghostly ship The Flying Dutchman. Jones demands payment or Jack suffers 100 years of servitude under Jones in the after-life. Jack now tells Will that in exchange for the compass, Will must find the key to a treasure chest. But Will discovers that the key is with Davy Jones. In the meantime, Elizabeth gets out of jail through her father's influence. In search of her fiancé, she dons boy's clothes and stows away on a ship. Can Jack outwit Davy Jones? Shall Elizabeth and Will ever be together again?
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is the sequel to the very popular Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl shown in 2003.
The present film is said to be the second of a trilogy. Like its predecessor, Pirates 2
is a well done adventure film that delivers pure entertainment and fun. Fast paced, it has non-stop action, very lengthy fight scenes (including a duel on a rolling giant wheel), prolonged jokes, constant shifting of locales with interesting visuals and fantastic special effects. For instance, the Kraken creature is awesome and reminds us of mythological monsters. Production design is good. Excellent prosthetics make Davy Jones look repulsive, with his slimy tentacles (which, ironically, can play beautiful organ music). Impressive too are the prosthetics and costumes of his monster-minions, which merge sea elements like corals, shells, crustaceans and fish parts. Johnny Depp's inimitable acting and characterization of Jack Sparrow exudes zest, wit, mischief and humor. Bloom, Knightly and the rest of the ensemble also deserve credit.
Aside from successfully welding disparate elements like battles and horrors with humor, Director
Verbinski has also created an exciting film about pirates with toned down violence and a minimum of gory and gruesome scenes. Moreover, Pirates of the Caribbean 2
has other values. Some characters are willing to brave unknown dangers in search of the beloved like Elizabeth Swann, or in search of what can be good for the beloved as in the case of Will Turner. They have shown that true love is willing to sacrifice for the person one loves. Elizabeth's father is motivated by love for his daughter when he risks his position to free Elizabeth. Will's father, likewise, does things for his son though he is aware of great punishment. Even Jack Sparrow who at first thinks only of himself putting Will Turner in danger to do the dirty job for him, later redeems himself when he returns and leads his men in the final battle. Like a true captain he allows his crew to abandon ship but decides to stay with his ship. In spite of great odds, Jack seems unafraid and determined to fight the evil of the seas.
(Date Reviewed: 14 July 2006)
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