Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest
(dir. Gore Verbinski)
another enjoyable high seas romp for cap'n jack sparrow, keira knightley and orlando bloom. pirates of the caribbean: dead men's chest is basically one long action scene. it's relentlessly noisy, clocks in at what feels like a good 2 and a half hours, but still manages to be fun, in a proper all-round entertainment kind of way. it's not dark, or clever or twisty, just pretty unpretentious summer blockbuster fare.
the first one was a v pleasant surprise for me: as much as i love the whole aaaaaarrrr vibe of pirates, there haven't been too many great pirate films recently, so i wasn't holding out much hope for it being any good. even though it's probably my favourite disney ride. so here, i had quite high expectations, and they were mostly met. doesn't have that law of diminishing returns you get w most sequels as such, but it is more of the same, without adding too much new stuff to the mix.
in a way they're setting it up as a star wars style trilogy, yes, it's staaaaaaaarrrr wars:
first film that reinvents a genre and is surprisingly good? check
anti hero who loves his ship? han solo + millenium falcon = jack sparrow and the black pearl
second part that does more of the same, shows more cantina-style monsters and extends the mythology? check
unresolved father issues? check
love triangle featuring feisty princess, rogue don't give a shit buccanneer and a slightly wooden pretty boy who's quite handy w a sword? check
etc.
bill nighy's lots of fun as the squid-faced davy jones, there's some big monster action, sneaky pirating and general double-crossing, some fun triple-sword showdowns and more comedy sidekick moments from mackenzie "gareth in the office" crook. plus there's a bit right at the end. apparently. i left too soon
aaaarrrrrrggghhh
not a classic, but really good fun if you liked the first one. just a bit too long and noisy. part 2 is definitely happening, hope it's not too return of the jedi-like. and be great if they get keith richards to show up
28th Jun 2006 - Tumblr
3.5