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

Posted by ad on Jun 29, 2006 in Film | 0 comments

This post originally appeared on Screen*Play.

From September through April, I think of myself as a bit of a film snob migrating between the Landmark Theater and the Angelica, or seeking the same from my under-utilized, over-priced Netflix membership. Come May however, all bets are off – it’s summer blockbuster season and a chance to sit in a nice air-conditioned theater, watching what the big Hollywood studios have been working on for a year or more to entertain the masses. What? I haven’t posted about one summer film you say. Well, that’s because until now there hasn’t been anything really worth writing about. Not only is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Disney) better than the original, it just might turn out to be the biggest grossing film of 2006.

Many critics panned the film which went on to break not one, but two records this weekend – highest opening day at $55.8 million and highest opening weekend (bye bye Spidey and Aquaman) with $135.6M. Remember, this is amusement-park-ride-to-big-screen movie fare, not The Lord of the Rings (New Line). But, the fans spoke and some like myself are likely to go back for a second turn.

 

For two plus hours, POTC: DMC, part two of the trilogy, is the perfect combo of  special effects, physical comedy and action-adventure. Seeing Johnny Depp  as Jack Sparrow-channeling-Keith Richards alone is worth $10.75.   There are moments in the film where he doesn’t speak, but facial expressions alone sent most into riotous laughter. While Pirates may be light on story, there is one and it leaves you counting the minutes for the final installment. Why reviewers found this middle ground annoying for being a bridge to the final is hard for me to understand.

Since I’m late in posting this, I’ll spare the lengthy write up and leave with this final bit of advice. To the 5 people who didn’t see Dead Man’s Chest this weekend — don’t look at IMDB, there’s a spoiler in the cast list.  See you on line for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End with Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow’s father – opening May 25, 2007.