Pirates of the Caribbean- Dead Man’s Chest
It works a lot better the second time around. At least, it did for me. How much better? This is pretty much a word one rewrite of the review I’d already started. Where I told two friends going to a midnight show of it (I’d screened it the night before) that it was “good with issues,” I would now say it’s “damn good with minor quibbles.” Even if it doesn’t match “The Curse of the Black Pearl’s” sense of campy excitement- ’cause let’s face it, that 2003 smash was a terrific surprise and a genuine original- “Dead Man’s Chest” ups the ante in story and action enough to make up the difference…and it’s only half the story (the second sequel, “At World’s End,” with Chow-Yun Fat as a pirate and a reported cameo by Depp-inspiration Keith Richards, is due out in May of ’07, as are second sequels of “Shrek” and “Spider-Man”).
Let’s get those quibbles out of the way quickly. First, they cram a lot into the film’s 150 minute run time, but that still seems too damn long for what’s just an action-adventure popcorn flick (what happened to the days of the 2-hour action movie people?), though to be fair, 7-10 minutes of that are end credits, a trend becoming more and more common with big movies (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’s” seemed like at least 10-12). Secondly, the standard-issue, Jerry Bruckheimer-esque “dramatic slo-motion” intro- where the plot is set in motion- is overly gratuitous and out of place for this movie (it kind of works for films like “The Rock” and “Con Air,” but it starts the movie off on the wrong foot in my opinion, especially after the brilliant cold opening in “Pearl”). Finally (really, there’s not much wrong here), I love Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow (he should have won the Oscar for the role in ’03- sorry Sean Penn and Bill Murray)- a genuinely original comic creation that didn’t set the tone of the first film (one of the most entertaining films in 10 years) but carried it sensationally- but some of the crazier comic bits he has seem more like ideas from the more tongue-in-cheek “Pearl” than the more straight-faced “Chest,” and they don’t really work in combination with “Chest’s” story so much as against it. They work on their own, though, although some of the verbal wit Captain Jack has doesn’t really work at all (meaning, I wasn’t laughing, and I couldn’t really tell that many other people were though), another quibble I suppose. OK, now let’s get to the good stuff.
Here’s the setup- Will Turner (Bloom, inhabiting the character charismatically once again) and Elizabeth Swan (Knightley, just as lusciously comely and deviously mischievous as she was in the original) are arrested on their wedding day for their part in Captain Jack’s escape at the end of the first film. Before facing the gallows, though, they’re told they can earn their freedom by tracking down Sparrow, offering him a full royal pardon, and bringing back his compass, which- if you’ll recall the first film- only Jack seemed able to read. Why the compass? Well, it’s said that it can lead the user to the locker of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy, “Love Actually”), the sea-legendary creature that’s basically the devil of the sea, who has made deals with many a pirate over the years, including Jack and Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgard, “Ronin”), Will’s father. What lies in Davy Jones’ Locker? His heart, “sold” to the ocean for eternal life; if someone were to destroy it, Jones’ curse would be broken, and he would die. Is that enough of a setup for you? And I haven’t even hinted at the sly twists in the road screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio (“Shrek,” “Black Pearl”) have come up with this time around- some will be mentioned, some, I’d rather ended up at the bottom of the ocean before saying anything.
The darker tone of “Dead Man’s Chest” might strike some viewers as, well, kind of off compared to the tone of “Pearl,” which took the story seriously enough to make you believe it, but also acknowledged the silliness inherent in it enough to make it great fun. I know I felt that way after watching the film the first time. But one look back at other first sequels- “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (more on this franchise later), “Back to the Future Part II,” “Batman Returns,” “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” and many, many others- and I wonder, “What exactly was I expecting?” “Dead Man’s Chest” is more action drama than a sort of camp comedy of the sea, with a look (courtesy Darius Wolski’s grand cinematography) and sound (Hans Zimmer’s score is a deft blend of old themes reconfigured and new musical motifs introduced; John Powell’s “The Bourne Supremacy” and Graeme Revell’s “The Crow: City of Angels” come to mind as other great examples of this sequel scoring style) to match as director Gore Verbinski expands the scope of “Pirates'” universe beyond what we could ever imagine coming from a theme park ride at Disney. You see the potential for the filmmakers- led by producer Jerry Bruckheimer- to create a new anthology film series like the one George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created- and are still looking to revive with a promised “Indy IV”- with Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones; not surprising, Depp has already expressed interest in bringing Captain Jack back after “World’s End” so long as the scripts continue to be good.
And this one- like the original- is a doozy. Elliot and Rossio have not only continued the arcs of the main players of “Pearl” effectively (Jonathan Pryce as Elizabeth’s father is still determined to remain dignified, and you’ll never guess how Jack Davenport’s disgraced Norrington fits into the mix) while bringing back satellite characters you never thought you’d miss (the bickering pirates from the Black Pearl are back and surprisingly enjoyable), but in the characters of Bootstrap Bill and Davy Jones himself (Naomie Harris’ gypsy- though in not just one of the funniest scenes in her first one but the most surprising in her second one- is OK, but ultimately not very interesting), create a rich new character arc to explore in Bill’s and a great cinematic villain in Davy Jones. As played by Skarsgard, Will’s cursed father is a fascinating figure not just in his interactions with Will (the two interact believably as father and son and forge a palpable and immediate emotional bond) but also a key early scene with Jack, whom he was behind- if you’ll recall- in the mutiny mentioned in the first one that led to his death. How his arc will play out is one of the most intriguing elements of next summer’s final film to me.
But Davy Jones is the character and casting coup of “Dead Man’s Chest.” Nighy has become a popular character actor among film fans in recent years with his cheeky work in films like “Love Actually” and “Shaun of the Dead.” Here, he’s given a bold dramatic u-turn as the slimy, sly Davy Jones that he makes the best out of in a performance of memorable pull and power in a villain that’s one of the best in recent cinematic memory- as perfect a foil to Captain Jack’s self-serving “heroics” as Geoffrey Rush was in “Black Pearl.” But even with Nighy at the top of his game, Davy Jones would work as a villain were it not for the wizardry of the effects teams at Industrial Light & Magic (headed by “Star Wars” prequel supervisor John Knoll), who after their stellar work on “Pearl” raise the bar even further with not just Jones and his crew of the damned (in varying degrees of sea structure makeup depending- one assumes- by how long they’ve been part of the crew) but also in their animation for The Kracken, Jones’ monster of the deep that he unleashes on Jack and company when all other measures to catching him seem to fail. The Kracken is top-notch creature animation, but Davy Jones takes the ideas of character animation brought forth by recent CG-triumphs like Jar Jar, Yoda, Gollum, and King Kong to another level altogether; they have my vote for this year’s Visual Effects Oscar for that alone. Isn’t it ironic that this trilogy- and not Lucas’ CG-intensive “Star Wars” prequels- seems to be giving the effects house he built more adventurous opportunities in the field? Still, as much as I love ’em, the prequels had a real been-there, done-that feel to the effects, while “Caribbean” is something very new in 21st century blockbusters (at least from my standpoint).
I could go on about the many great scenes in this flick. Captain Jack’s reintroduction (just about as genius as his intro in “Pearl”). The undead monkey. The sequence on Tortuga. The Flying Dutchman. The waterwheel swordfight (which takes the form to a whole new level). The final battle with The Kracken. That great cliffhanger. But all this just boils down to a damn entertaining night (or day) at the movies. Like its’ predecessor, “Dead Man’s Chest” is a shot of exhilaration in a summer with its’ fair share of letdowns. And more importantly, for me (who wasn’t exactly clamoring for a sequel to “Pirates”), it was- like its’ predecessor- a surprise in a summer without much in the way of them. Gotta love it.
My Original Review (Unfinished, initial grade- B):
Hollywood likes to think lightning strikes twice on a regular basis. Sometimes it works out that way (“Spider-Man 2,” “Toy Story 2,” “Star Wars: Episodes 3 & 5,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Goblet of Fire,” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”- you notice how most of these revolve around pre-existing, non-movie material?), but most of the time, not so much (the last two “Batman” and all three original “Superman” sequels most notably- you notice how all of those suffer from miscalculations in tone?). People who have talked to me about “Dead Man’s Chest,” the first of two sequels to 2003’s “The Curse of the Black Pearl” (the second one, subtitled “World’s End,” is out in May 2007), know my opinion of sequelizing “Pearl”- namely, don’t. This was an instance when Hollywood should have just left well enough alone. Something magical happened on “The Curse of the Black Pearl”- a perfect combination of filmmakers (the director, Gore Verbinski, proved his mettle with both wry humor- “Mouse Hunt”- and sharp scares- “The Ring”; the writers included those responsible for the brilliant revisionist fairy tale “Shrek”; the producer- Jerry Bruckheimer- has the clout to get the necessary financing), subject matter well-handled (turning a Disney theme park ride into a campy, exciting contemporary take on the swashbuckler was inspired), and character-for-character casting perfection (Bruckheimer also can wrangle actors from then-up-and-coming faces like Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley to acclaimed talents like Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp, whose nutty, punch-drunk Captain Jack Sparrow was not only an original comic creation but also got the actor his first Oscar nod) that resulted in a stunning $300-million take at the box-office. Success like that more than justifies franchise talks financially. The relatively closed-ended story of “Pearl,” however, leaves the idea questionable in terms of quality. “Pearl” was exactly that in the Hollywood sea, an instance where everything came together beautifully in an original and entertaining way.
“Dead’s Man Chest” doesn’t open up debate on the issue for me so much as close it- turning “Pirates” into a franchise was a mistake (that doesn’t mean I’ll be missing “At World’s End” when it comes out next year, though, especially now that I’ve been reminded Chow Yun-Fat is in it). Though far from a bad movie (too many entertaining moments, and too interesting a story), “Chest” does sully a vibrant original by, well, trying to emulate its’ success beat-for-beat, the biggest problem with most sequels. The main members of the cast and crew are back for a second- and third- go-round- a good thing, too, ’cause I shudder to think what this movie would be without even a one of them.
Here’s the setup- Will Turner (Bloom, inhabiting the character charismatically once again) and Elizabeth Swan (Knightley, just as lusciously comely and deviously mischievous as she was in the original) are arrested on their wedding day for their part in Captain Jack’s escape at the end of the first film. Before facing the gallows, though, they’re told they can earn their freedom by tracking down Sparrow, offering him a full royal pardon, and bringing back his compass, which- if you’ll recall the first film- only Jack seemed able to read. Why the compass? Well, it’s said that it can lead the user to the locker of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy, “Love Actually”), the sea-legendary creature that’s basically the devil of the sea, who has made deals with many a pirate over the years, including Jack and Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgard, “Ronin”), Will’s father. What lies in Davy Jones’ Locker? His heart, “sold” to the ocean for eternal life; if someone were to destroy it, Jones’ curse would be broken, and he would die. Is that enough of a setup for you? It’s certainly an interesting enough story to be worth your money.
Almost immediately, “Black Pearl” established a cheeky tone of taking the story seriously enough for audiences to buy into it, but acknowledging the silliness in it enough to make it damn entertaining- to call it one of the most entertaining movies in 10 years is NOT an understatement. But from the start, something felt off about “Dead Man’s Chest.” It seemed to take the story a little too seriously…maybe that Oscar nod for Depp- a rarity for an adventure film- put the fire under them to make it have a little more weight dramatically (Lord knows the gratuitous “dramatic slo-mo opening”- not an uncommon occurance in a Bruckheimer pic- doesn’t help matters much). But the inverse effect is that a lot of times, when they try some of the same goofy humor of the original, it doesn’t really work, even in the comically-gifted hands of Depp. At times it’s almost as if his broad and brilliant characterization doesn’t really work anymore- he didn’t set the tone of the original, he just carried it with remarkable gusto. Here, it’s almost as if he’s sometimes in a different movie altogether. Not always though- an escape from a tribe who sees him as a God (don’t ask), a heightened flirtation with Elizabeth (Depp and Knightley strike sparks), and a running joke with the monkey from the first film- my personal favorite- are all inspired Depp moments that capture the magic of the first film. But for me, they were few and far between in a movie where it seemed like he was trying too hard. There’s a basic comic principle that a man wearing a funny hat isn’t funny, but if the man doesn’t know he’s wearing a funny hat, you’ve got something. In “Pearl,” Depp’s performance is a note-perfect example of the latter; in “Chest,” one senses Depp’s in on the joke, and he knows it.
