Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

3/10

Starring

Johnny Depp

Geoffrey Rush

Orlando Bloom

Keira Knightley

Directed by Gore Verbinski

After the strong ending of the first film, with Disney seeing huge box office returns and positive critical reviews for the film and its cast, they decided to add two more movies.

This time, they weren’t cutting corners—they were ready to up the production cost and make this movie a CGI masterpiece. I just wish they had focused more on making the movie’s story a masterpiece too. The movie was dull, long, and filled with numerous fight scenes that dragged on too long to be enjoyable. The only good thing about the next two movies was the introduction of new characters.

While the next two films could have been a financial win for Disney, they were annoying, and I wish I hadn’t taken the time to see them.

Now, the next two films focus on Davy Jones, a character who fell in love with a sea goddess named Calypso. His story involves cutting out his heart and placing it in a chest called the Dead Man’s Chest after he believed Calypso didn’t return his love. In anger, he and other pirates imprisoned her in human form.

Davy Jones is the captain of a ghost ship named the Flying Dutchman. Jack Sparrow made a deal with Jones before the events of the first film: if Jones helped him retrieve the Black Pearl from Davy Jones’ Locker, Jack would serve on the Dutchman for 100 years.

Now, the time has come for Jack to serve, but he’s not ready—he was only captain of the Black Pearl for two years before the mutiny. Jones isn’t having it, though, so Jack strikes a new deal: 100 souls in exchange for his own, with prepayment assured. All of this merges with many other events happening on the other side of civilization.

On the other side, Will and Elizabeth are about to get married when their wedding is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett, who arrests them.

Meanwhile, Jack is visited by Will’s father, Bootstrap Bill Turner, who informs Jack that he must join Jones’ crew or be dragged to Davy Jones’ Locker by the Kraken. At the same time, Lord Beckett promises to free Elizabeth if Will brings him Jack’s magic compass, which points to whatever the holder desires most.

So, Jack and Will meet up, each with their own motives for what they want to happen.

The film’s commercial success convinced Disney that a third installment was a good idea, and they completed and released it a year after this lackluster film. Lastly, aside from its Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, it went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.