pirates or the caribbean - dead man's chest
let me start by saying that this film surpassed all previous opening weekend sales records ($132 million) and the largest single-day take ($55 million). after one weekend, it was only $1 million behind "mission: impossible 3"'s total box office sales.
let me continue by saying IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, QUIT READING THIS REVIEW!! -- i'm about to give away some elements from the film that might ruin it for you.
i'll start with the premise. captain jack sparrow (johnny depp) thirteen years prior made a deal with captain davy jones (bill nighy) to raise the black pearl from the depths of the sea and that he may captain the ship for thirteen years. jack's end of the deal was to serve 100 years on davy jones ship, the flying dutchman -- a sentence set to begin at the end of his thirteen year reign as captain. as shown in "the curse of the black pearl", jack is mutinied by his crew after only two years and has reclaimed the black pearl about one year before "dead man's chest" picks up. and i might add that his crew appears ready to mutiny once again as he is seeking a legendary chest and its key in order to bargain with davy jones for his life rather than going after treasure and pillaging.
the film opens with elizabeth swan (kiera knightley) kneeling in her wedding dress amid tables set for a reception in the rain, looking quite miserable. it appears as if something infinitely more horrible than wedding day rain is bothering her. yet it never explains what that might be nor why william turner (orlando bloom), her fiancé, is inside his smithee shop rather than somewhere more appropriate, just before his wedding. that opening is one of the few qualms i have about the film. there just isn't much too be said against "deam man's chest".
johnny depp returns in full drunken swagger as the sexy captain jack and his character hasn't changed much from the first film except that this time his selfish intentions are laid bare from the film's start. in the first film, he is trying to regain his ship; this time, he is trying to save his soul from 100 years of service to the flying dutchman. and he convinces others -- namely, will and elizabeth -- to achieve this goal without telling them of his true plans. he runs much more in this film, however; on land, on the pearl, with the pearl, in a long boat. the entire film is jack running scared from one painful death or another. maybe commadore norrington was right in calling him "the worst pirate [he'd] ever heard of". in two films, he's yet to do any true pirating. sure he commandeersa few ships in the first film but here he's more of a pickpocketing negotiator than a cut-throat pirate. he gets into sword fights only when his powers of persuasion have failed. he's a great charcter but i thnk the character himself needs to come to terms with not being very pirate-like. i think jack is in denial about who he truly is. his rare moments of pride and virtue are overcast by his overwhelming need for adventure and freedom but you see that he really does have a conscience in this film. when rowing away alone in the only longboat to save himslef from the krakken he turns back to the ship not to fight but to get the remainder of this crew. and when elizabeth shackles him to the mast to allow them to escape, he doesn't argue or fight -- he knows that this is the fate he deserves. he merely gazes at her with a look of bemused respect and admiration both for her deceptive cunning and for her cold-hearted realism that this is the only way for anyone to survive. he smiles appreciatively and calls her a "pirate" with pride.
his greatest moments are what he assumes will be his last. he breaks free, regains his hat and for the first time stares death in its ugly face and stands his ground unafraid. he draws his sword and advances on the fiercest sea creature of all time with a smirk on his face.
kiera knightley is stunning as the new and improved elizabeth. still beautiful, smart and bold, but no longer the damsel in distress. she has learned swordplay from her fiancé and can hold her own. she actually goes out with jack to rescue will. her deviously sexy flirting with jack to try and get her way turns out to be double-edged, though, as she begins to have feeling - no i should say yearnings - for him, as well. the film falters slightly there. there's no foreplay to this romance; she's been in love with will for so long and is ready to marry him and all that and then suddenly jack's there and she's daydreaming about him. the prob;em, as i see it, is the lack of building in the first film. "dead man's chest" gives plenty of little tidbits to show the possibility but they weren't present in "black pearl" so it still seems too sudden.
orlando bloom is more lively and loose this time as the love-struck swordsman will turner. he's more the pirate now than before, giving orders in jack's absence and having the entire crew following them. his fearlessness in the face of danger contrasts sharply with jack's run-and-hide technique. he stares unflinchingly into the face of davy jones, he bargains with his eternal soul just to learn where the all-important key is hidden, he takes five lashes with calm reserve, he even risks his life setting up an offensive against the krakken while captain jack has already abandoned his own ship.
and a word or two about return faces. commadore norrington ( jack davenport) comes back as a broken down, unemployed drunkard who joins jack's crew. most of the ending crew on the peral return along with captian barbossa's monkey, which jack shoots incessantly in anger as it somehow still maintains the curse of non-death. the two comedic relief pirates show up with the dog that keeps the prison keys. and in the most unforeseen turn of events, geoffrey rush, himself, returns as the notorious captain barbossa who somehow is still alive. personnally, i don't know how they justify resurrecting the character, but it will surely make for a great third film as barbossa actually leads the remaining crew to rescue jack and the pearl. the third film is slated for next memorial day.
and for that one i'd like to make one prediction: the female witchdoctor/seer whose name i've forgotten is davy jones' true love. note the heart-shaped locket captain jack almost lifts from her table. davy jones has an identical one atop his organ which plays a little melody to help him fall asleep.
let me continue by saying IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, QUIT READING THIS REVIEW!! -- i'm about to give away some elements from the film that might ruin it for you.
i'll start with the premise. captain jack sparrow (johnny depp) thirteen years prior made a deal with captain davy jones (bill nighy) to raise the black pearl from the depths of the sea and that he may captain the ship for thirteen years. jack's end of the deal was to serve 100 years on davy jones ship, the flying dutchman -- a sentence set to begin at the end of his thirteen year reign as captain. as shown in "the curse of the black pearl", jack is mutinied by his crew after only two years and has reclaimed the black pearl about one year before "dead man's chest" picks up. and i might add that his crew appears ready to mutiny once again as he is seeking a legendary chest and its key in order to bargain with davy jones for his life rather than going after treasure and pillaging.
the film opens with elizabeth swan (kiera knightley) kneeling in her wedding dress amid tables set for a reception in the rain, looking quite miserable. it appears as if something infinitely more horrible than wedding day rain is bothering her. yet it never explains what that might be nor why william turner (orlando bloom), her fiancé, is inside his smithee shop rather than somewhere more appropriate, just before his wedding. that opening is one of the few qualms i have about the film. there just isn't much too be said against "deam man's chest".
johnny depp returns in full drunken swagger as the sexy captain jack and his character hasn't changed much from the first film except that this time his selfish intentions are laid bare from the film's start. in the first film, he is trying to regain his ship; this time, he is trying to save his soul from 100 years of service to the flying dutchman. and he convinces others -- namely, will and elizabeth -- to achieve this goal without telling them of his true plans. he runs much more in this film, however; on land, on the pearl, with the pearl, in a long boat. the entire film is jack running scared from one painful death or another. maybe commadore norrington was right in calling him "the worst pirate [he'd] ever heard of". in two films, he's yet to do any true pirating. sure he commandeersa few ships in the first film but here he's more of a pickpocketing negotiator than a cut-throat pirate. he gets into sword fights only when his powers of persuasion have failed. he's a great charcter but i thnk the character himself needs to come to terms with not being very pirate-like. i think jack is in denial about who he truly is. his rare moments of pride and virtue are overcast by his overwhelming need for adventure and freedom but you see that he really does have a conscience in this film. when rowing away alone in the only longboat to save himslef from the krakken he turns back to the ship not to fight but to get the remainder of this crew. and when elizabeth shackles him to the mast to allow them to escape, he doesn't argue or fight -- he knows that this is the fate he deserves. he merely gazes at her with a look of bemused respect and admiration both for her deceptive cunning and for her cold-hearted realism that this is the only way for anyone to survive. he smiles appreciatively and calls her a "pirate" with pride.
his greatest moments are what he assumes will be his last. he breaks free, regains his hat and for the first time stares death in its ugly face and stands his ground unafraid. he draws his sword and advances on the fiercest sea creature of all time with a smirk on his face.
kiera knightley is stunning as the new and improved elizabeth. still beautiful, smart and bold, but no longer the damsel in distress. she has learned swordplay from her fiancé and can hold her own. she actually goes out with jack to rescue will. her deviously sexy flirting with jack to try and get her way turns out to be double-edged, though, as she begins to have feeling - no i should say yearnings - for him, as well. the film falters slightly there. there's no foreplay to this romance; she's been in love with will for so long and is ready to marry him and all that and then suddenly jack's there and she's daydreaming about him. the prob;em, as i see it, is the lack of building in the first film. "dead man's chest" gives plenty of little tidbits to show the possibility but they weren't present in "black pearl" so it still seems too sudden.
orlando bloom is more lively and loose this time as the love-struck swordsman will turner. he's more the pirate now than before, giving orders in jack's absence and having the entire crew following them. his fearlessness in the face of danger contrasts sharply with jack's run-and-hide technique. he stares unflinchingly into the face of davy jones, he bargains with his eternal soul just to learn where the all-important key is hidden, he takes five lashes with calm reserve, he even risks his life setting up an offensive against the krakken while captain jack has already abandoned his own ship.
and a word or two about return faces. commadore norrington ( jack davenport) comes back as a broken down, unemployed drunkard who joins jack's crew. most of the ending crew on the peral return along with captian barbossa's monkey, which jack shoots incessantly in anger as it somehow still maintains the curse of non-death. the two comedic relief pirates show up with the dog that keeps the prison keys. and in the most unforeseen turn of events, geoffrey rush, himself, returns as the notorious captain barbossa who somehow is still alive. personnally, i don't know how they justify resurrecting the character, but it will surely make for a great third film as barbossa actually leads the remaining crew to rescue jack and the pearl. the third film is slated for next memorial day.
and for that one i'd like to make one prediction: the female witchdoctor/seer whose name i've forgotten is davy jones' true love. note the heart-shaped locket captain jack almost lifts from her table. davy jones has an identical one atop his organ which plays a little melody to help him fall asleep.
posted by scøüpe at 9:39 AM
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