_Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_Dead_Man's_Chest_ (PG-13) *** (out of ****)
Expectations for the first _Pirates_of_the_Caribbean_ film, 2003's _The_Curse_of_the_Black_Pearl_, were understandably low--after all, its dubious source material was a theme park ride, of all things--but director Gore Verbinski and scripters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio managed to come up with an entertaining, if overlong, throwback swashbuckler whose most distinct innovation was its old-fashioned style. Distinctly fashion-forward, on the other hand, was the film's ultimate ace in the hole: Johnny Depp's indelibly eccentric work as rogue pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, which made the film an even more jovial jaunt than it otherwise would have been.
Depp's Capt. Jack hasn't mellowed his madness the slightest bit in _Dead_Man's_Chest_, the second of a now-planned trilogy, and while his performance still gives this film the film a kooky kick all its own, there is none of that out-of-left-field shock element attached to it; audiences are now not only expecting but looking forward to more wacky Jackie. But Verbinski and the returning Elliott and Rossio find other ways to surprise. Not that there isn't plenty of what audiences want and expect; the trio of Jack, dashing hero Will Turner (Orlando Bloom, regaining his footing after _Elizabethtown_), and plucky heroine Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley, back to delivering dialogue through clenched teeth after her Oscar-nominated _Pride_&_Prejudice_ turn) again take to the seas for another adventure, this time to search for the "dead man's chest" of the title, which contains the beating heart of the legendary ruler of the sea Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), to whom Jack owes a blood debt. Along the way, there's all manner of swashbuckling swordfighting that one comes to expect in--once again--a somewhat bloated two-hour-plus run time.
Verbinski finds giddy new ways of staging the mayhem, though, and an antic _Looney_Tunes_ sensibility amps up the two key action set pieces to even greater crowd-pleasing levels. But he doesn't rest on his popularity-proven laurels; with the character of Davy Jones, Verbinski and his visual effects team break startling new ground. Jones and the crew of his otherworldly ship The Flying Dutchman bear all the ravages of years of undersea damnation--that is, acquiring certain aquatic qualities--and the CG "makeup" done to bring the likes Jones's tentacled, squid-like head to life defies accurate description much like Depp's performance in the first film. While computer generated, the effects are remarkably tactile, the most meticulous digital approximation of practical FX to date. But considering such razzle dazzle is expected from big budget blockbuster follow-ups, the most surprising trick up Verbinski and the writers' sleeve is that this is not a typical sequel rehash but a rather ambitious and largely successful attempt at making a continuation of a larger story, with the film opening with events fully in progress and closing with not only loose narrative ends still dangling but the characters at more precarious points in a less predictable overall arc--not exactly what one ever expected from a series of films that is, after all, based on a theme park attraction.
But for whatever unusual ambitions, _Dead_Man's_Chest_, like its predecessor, also doesn't lose sight of those just-for-fun origins; while Verbinski still could stand to employ some tighter editing (there's really no detectable reason why these occasionally draggy films can't have a half-hour shaved off), it's the rollicking ride that keeps the audience coming back for more--and will keep them coming back for more when _At_World's_End_ concludes the trilogy next summer.
(c)2006 Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina twotrey@gmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com | mrbrown@themoviereport.com The Movie Report/Mr. Brown's Movie Site: www.themoviereport.com www.quickstopentertainment.com | www.cinemareview.com | www.aalbc.com www.johnsingletonfilms.com | on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL/Y! IM: mrbrown23
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