The Dead man’s chest-arguably one of the most anticipated movie sequel of the year and yet such a dissappointment. Will it top its predecessor? In terms of budget, cinematography and pure visual awe, yeah, maybe. In terms of quality of cinema? Hardly.
So we begin with Elizabeth Swann (Knightely) and her fiance Will Turner(Bloom) arrested on the day of their wedding for assisting a fugitive pirate (Depp) Jack Sparrow (CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow!) from the gallows. They can be freed if Will can retrieve Sparrow’s magic compass (or ’broken’ compass, as Norrington, Elizabeth’s ex-fiance reiterates).
The plot doesn’t end there. Apparantly our freind Sparrow has made a Dr. Faustus-like deal with the devil. He owes his soul to Davey Jones, a slimy, squid-like something (Nighy), a life time of servitude, and to escape that, the conniving Sparrow employs innocent Turner. And oh yeah, Sparrow also wants the key that leads to Jones’ chest that contains his still-beating heart that can help control another gigantic (and gross) squid-like creature under Jone’s control. Confusing? It only gets worse.
If you havn’t watched the first part, you might find Sparrow’s swaying antics very amusing. For those who have, this is just a hammed up and forced deja vu. You have been there, seen that. So he’s funny. We knew that. We had guessed he would have been funnier.
Davey Jone’s crew is as gross as gross can get. So if you have a fancy for slimy creatures fed on other slimy creatures (which to the movies credit , have been generated very realistically), this could be err, a ’treat’ for you.
So the film is long, slow and boring in many parts. Okay, for die-hard Pirates fans, there are also things that they might want to look forward to. Depp is pretty adept. His rendition of Capt. Sparrow can scarcely be matched. If ever there was an actor tailor made for a role, this is it. If only he had a better script, he would have worked wonders. Knightely is beautiful. And she gets better with every movie, even though she has precious little to do in this one. Bloom is the typical side-kick hunk. Makes a very honorable Will Turner. And oh yes, the sequence of Sparrow’s escape from the savages- side-splittingly funny. If you can ignore the much hyped cannibalistic toe-bite, this was the part that justifies your watching of the movie. The visual effects are fantastic and therefore all the more distasteful. After a while you just become immune to the gore.
So does the movie leave you satisfied at the end of 2.5 hours? Not really. Fantasy freaks may yet enjoy it, but would hardly deny that the sequel pales terribly before the original. The third part better be better than this. Or it would be a sad fate for the legend of Captain Jack Sparrow.