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by Willie Waffle

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Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest

Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner are back for another adventure (and nicely augmented paychecks), but this film needs a bit more explanation and stronger dialogue to go along with the laughs and action.  However, don't let that statement scare you.  It's still better than most movies out there, and stands among the best of this summer, especially as it moves to a riotous, action packed last half hour (kind of like a date with me).  If you can make it to the end, you’ll be rewarded with plot twists that will shock you and change the Pirates world forever!      

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest starts with what is supposed to be Elizabeth (Kiera Knightley) and Will's (Orlando Bloom) wedding day, but the proceedings are interrupted when Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) arrests the two for helping Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) escape in the first movie.  Of course, this is all a smokescreen to get what he really wants.  Beckett makes a deal with Will - bring back Sparrow and get him to give over a mystical compass that points to what the possessor most wants, and Sparrow will get a good job, while the two love birds can go free.  It’s hard to believe Beckett, but, finding Jack is going to be even harder.     

Sparrow has set sail on a mysterious mission, but he has larger problems as well.  The legendary pirate (not the Monkee) Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) wants to collect on an old debt owed to him by Sparrow, and has sent an emissary to warn our favorite pirate of grave misfortune he may encounter if he does not live up to his end of the bargain. 

Who will catch Jack first?  Will Turner?  Davy Jones? Michael Nesmith?      

As you can tell by the additional space necessary to describe the plot,  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest has a complicated story that just doesn't need to be this complicated.  The audience shouldn’t have to be PhD candidates in Piratology to enjoy the movie and get the story!  It took me almost ¾ of the film to understand everyone's motives, all of the dealing and double dealing and the additional twists caused by the appearance of other characters, who all have their own motives and schemes.  Then, you realize not much of it matters because it’s all just a set up to the story we really need to know for the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: World’s End (coming out next summer). 

It's as if writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott have gone a bit overboard trying to fill up the screen with intrigue, and director Gore Verbinski decided to jam it all in instead of editing, slicing and dicing.  It yields a movie that feels like it is trying too hard to justify its existence by creating story after story and subplot after subplot, when the basic plot is enough to pull our characters back together for a movie we want to see.  That said,  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest becomes a fantastic movie towards the end as we move to an action packed, funny, death defying climax with a shocking twist that will have you demanding to see the third Pirates movie as soon as possible. 

Depp is at the top of his game as he saves a weak script with outrageous antics (kind of like he used to on 21 Jump Street).  More than in the first movie, he focuses on physical comedy with his pirate preening, hilarious running in chase scenes and funny facial reactions that make you think he is starring in a classic silent film with Charlie Chaplin.  You have to pay attention to him in every scene to catch it all (not a large burden to put on the ladies in the audience), but it’s worth it as he delivers the best performance of anyone in the cast. 

Knightley gets a chance to show some depth in her exchanges between Elizabeth and Sparrow, which lead to the movie’s biggest scene (the one you will be talking about all summer long), while Bloom (the one who sits silently as the other two compare Oscar nominations, and wonders why he is dating Kate Bosworth - a girl who looks like a 13-year old boy in a dress with less personality and charm) gets to showcase some physical ability in a swashbuckling swordfight late in the movie that serves as the best action sequence of the film.  The scene challenges Verbinski to capture a constantly changing battlefield (for lack of a better term) without losing track of all of the participants.  It’s a madcap action sequence for the ages!
     

Lucky for us, Verbinski always finds a lighthearted moment or joke to keep the audience interested, which saves Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest from getting lost in a sea of confusing plot twists and average dialogue.  Plus, you get a great set up for the next Pirates movie. 

 3 Waffles (Out Of 4)

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