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Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Year: 2006
Director: Gore Verbinski
Writers: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley
Review:
This was a film that I went to see in the theater originally. I believe that it would have been when I was home from college. This was one that I also picked up on DVD years ago, watched it then and haven’t seen it since. This was the next one up to cover on Depp Dive: A Depper Look at Johnny’s Feature Filmography with my wife, Jaime.
Synopsis: Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) races to recover the heart of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) to avoid enslaving his soul to service, as other friends and foes seek the heart for their own agenda as well.
We start this with a depressing sequence that is also beautiful. Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) was supposed to marry the love of her life, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). That didn’t go as planned. Will was arrested by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) who is a representative of I believe the Dutch East India Company. He is superseding the governor, Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce), in making the arrest. Elizabeth is also taken into custody. The reason is their aid in the escape of Jack Sparrow.
He has issues of his own. It seems that Davy Jones helped Jack become the captain of the Black Pearl. Jack is claiming that because of the mutiny, he hasn’t been captain for the ten years that they agreed to. The semantics do not matter to Davy, who is the captain of the Flying Dutchmen. The crew of the Pearl seek out their former captain.
Will is given a choice by Beckett. If he can find the compass that Jack has, he will free him. Beckett is searching for a key to the chest that contains the heart of the ocean, which belongs to Davy. Jack is also searching for this. This leads him to Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), who seems to be a voodoo priestess. James Norrington (Jack Davenport) is now living in disgrace because what happened is also still in the area.
Referencing back to the synopsis, all these characters interact and work together. They also work to sabotage for their own gain as everyone vies for what they want most. Relationships also get strained and Davy has the mythical creature, the kraken, at his disposal.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is why I’m writing this review. This isn’t necessarily horror, but there are elements here. We have these undead pirates that are working with Davy Jones. What I love is that they’re slowly becoming creatures that you’d find under the sea. Davy has become an octopus. He has a hammerhead shark, coral, a conch shell with a hermit crab and even one that looks like sea caves with an eel living in it. That is creepy. This is partially a kaiju film or at least has one in it with the kraken. It just goes to dark places while still being whimsical for older children. I don’t fully consider it, but it is horror adjacent.
Now that I have that out of the way, what I love about this film is that it is starting to lean more into pirate and boating lore. I didn’t realize that Davy Jones’ Locker is the bottom of the ocean in mythology. That makes it fun to have a character like Davy here and his crew becoming animals you’d find. He also helms the legendary Flying Dutchman ghost ship. The kraken is used in different forms of lore like Greek as well. These are all things that I appreciate as someone who is fascinated by religions on a level like this.
Something else that makes this work is that it is a wild adventure film. I’ll pull in filmmaking as well. They were able to craft shots of high action whether Jack, Will and Norrington having a three way duel for the chest. Or it is a high seas battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman. The cinematography and framing were good there. What was more impressive was how good the CGI was here. This holds up better than things that are coming out now. It is interesting that Disney has been a money machine after the brief lulls of the past. They truly didn’t have the money that they have now with obtaining Marvel and Pixar. Regardless of how they were able to do so, the effects of creatures and battles were great. The soundtrack also fits into a blockbuster adventure film as well. It also helps with an eerie atmosphere when things get dark.
All that is left then is the acting performances. Depp is great here. He was born to play this role and he just gives such life to Captain Jack. Bloom and Knightley are good. Their relationship gets strained with things that happened. They’re also caught up in a situation they don’t want to be in that could cost them their lives, both literally and figuratively. Skarsgård is solid in his role to help develop Will more. Nighy is great as our new villain. I’d never guess that it was him with the effects to transform him. Davenport, Kevin McNally, Pryce, Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Cook are all solid in coming back. I liked the additions of Hollander and Harris. Everyone here is solid for what they’re needed for.
In conclusion, this is a fun follow up to the original. The continuity that they used to pick up the story is great. Having Will and Elizabeth’s lives derailed due to helping Jack, then needing his help is great. The acting fits to bring all the characters to life. I love that there is ‘no honor amongst thieves’. Everyone is trying to do what is best for them, even if it hurts others. That adds tension. This is well made with the effects, cinematography, framing and soundtrack leading the way. This might not be as good as the original, but it isn’t far behind. Incorporating in more pirate and ocean mythology just hooks me in. I would recommend giving a rewatch if it's been a while.
My Rating: 8 out of 10