Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest

Dead Man's Chest is the sequel to the super double mega popular Curse of the Black Pearl from a couple of years ago. As such, it has high expectations from the many fans of the original. The films creators were obviously aware of this (perhaps too much.)

All for one and one for all? Not quite.

Dead Man's Chest delivers more of the same. It's got all the swashbuckling, cheesy-action, goofy one-liner goodness of its predecessor. That's not to say this is a bad thing; indeed, mindless summer popcorn films can be a lot of fun. And DMC is definitely all about fun. If you saw the first film, you've seen the second. It's largely the same cast getting into the same situations, only with weird fish-men instead of undead, Bill Nighy instead of Geoffrey Rush and a To Be Continued...rather than a real ending. We do get to meet Bootstrap Bill Turner (played by Stellan Skaarsgard.)

The Dead Man's Chest belongs to Davey Jones, doombringer of pirate legend. There's something to do with a debt, 100 years of slavery, fish-men who control the seas and a blue 11/11 creature with the trample ability. The plot is fairly convoluted and, at times, a little tough to keep up with. There is much deception, backstabbing and ulterior motives. The movie largely gets by on the charisma of Depp, Bloom and Knightley. The problem is, things sometimes feel a little bit too familiar. I appreciate a few nods to the first movie, but DMC goes overboard (LOL!!!1) There are way too many references to the Curse of the Black Pearl for my taste. Yes, the rum is still gone, Sparrow is still rooting for Norrington, there is another time when they almost caught Jack Sparrow and so on and so on. I half expected the director to pop in front of the camera and say "You guys saw the first movie, right? Was that fun or WHAT?!? WOOHOO!!"

Pirates and creepy voodoo

All things considered, it's a fun little distraction (though at 2.5 hours it starts to wear out its welcome a bit.) If you liked the first movie, chances are you'll like this one, though it doesn't quite have the magic of its predecessor. Put it this way: It's not exactly The Empire Strikes back, but it's not Matix: Reloaded either.

Dead Man's Chest earns 3 wombats out of 4