'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' Review
Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
Won: Best Visual Effects.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest continues following the exploits of the savvy Captain Jack Sparrow as the tentacular Captain of the Flying Dutchman Davy Jones seeks to uphold a briny bargain and adjoin Sparrow's soul with his collection. Therefore, the only alternative to Sparrow is to locate Jones' heart in hopes he can wield it as leverage over the supernatural seafarer. Meanwhile, Sparrow's predicament interrupts the wedding plans of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann so they're once again embroiled into the oceanic escapades.
Director Gore Verbinski returned to steer the franchise even further into the strange waters Curse of the Black Pearl dipped its toes into. For one, the crew of the Flying Dutchman are cursed to resemble sea creatures so there are hammerhead shark men and coral-infused anthropomorphized beings running about; and that's not even taking the mythos surrounding Davy Jones into account.
Verbinski really relishes in the swashbuckling setting he's established as the nonsensical action sequences turn out to be even more amusing and it's always exciting to see what ruses Jack Sparrow will employ to escape precarious situations. Dead Man's Chest definitely delivered on upping the entertainment value by featuring a sword skirmish atop a traveling watermill wheel, standard ship shootouts, and a full-scale assault from the monstrous Kraken.
The technical team behind Dead Man's Chest further enhance the proceedings with commendable cinematography, rough production design, and remarkable visual effects work depicting Jones and his crew that held up surprisingly well in the eleven years since theatrical release. Klaus Badelt left his scoring duties behind so Hans Zimmer lent his expertise in that department to compose epic emotionally-resonant character themes that meticulously matched Badelt's pre-existing sea shanties.
Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio resume their scripting duties to build upon their pre-existing sea of scalawags, furthering plot points touched upon in Curse of the Black Pearl while taking the characters in new, interesting directions. Dead Man's Chest does meander about in search of storytelling coves Curse of the Black Pearl left behind, but for the most part remains a well-paced adventure film.
The crew is composed of fresh and familiar faces who stretch their sea legs and sail unexplored waters. Johnny Depp's back with all the silly swagger he can muster in the role of Jack Sparrow while Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley return as star-crossed lovers Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. Bloom and Knightley get to chart new waters for their characters as they explore morally ambiguous territory and all that accompanies life at sea.
Bill Nighy enters the fray with a motion capture portrayal of Davy Jones, barking scurvyous Scottish demands in slimy squid-like fashion and Nighy brings the necessary gravitas to stand out as a memorable roguish antagonist.
Amongst the supporting cast, Kevin McNally, Jack Davenport, and Johnathan Pryce fill out their previous roles as loyal first mate Gibbs, former naval commodore Norrington (now a broken man), and the stately Governor Weatherby Swann with Stellan Skarsgård and Naomi Harris coming onboard to play Turner's barnacled patriarch Bootstrap Bill and a voodoo sorceress Tia Dalma respectively. Overall, Dead Man's Chest is a rousing galavant across the sea that floats on the merits of its cast, technical execution, and undercurrent scoring but occasionally runs adrift in search of side stories to tell.
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