Argh, welcome back aboard the SS Fluttershy and today, we continue our trek through the Caribbean as we review the second Pirates film, Dead Man's Chest. Let's not be wastin' anytime. Let's begin.
The Plot
We open on a wet and rainy Port Royal and it is to be the wedding of Will and Elizabeth but one Lord Cutler Beckett has other plans as he has come with warrants for their arrest.
Will and Elizabeth are charged for aiding in setting free an enemy of the crown. Ah, speaking of Captain Jack. We first catch glimpse of him escaping in a casket. Timely considering that he has a debt to pay. Good ole Captain Jack had made a debt to raise the Pearl from the depths 13 years ago and time for the debt to be paid is now. Not too long after this, Will is offered an ultimatum by Beckett, get Jack's compass and he'll get a full pardon.
Will has no choice but to accept but remains cautious of Beckett's motives. Meanwhile on The Pearl, Will Turner's father, Bootstrap Bill had come to give the news to Jack as he says. Jack doesn't want to be a part of Jones' crew , so he sets out to find the Dead Man's Chest and the key that opens it because whoever has this, controls Davy Jones.
Time's run out, Jack.
Wow, Doug Walker is right, he looks nothing like Orlando Bloom. Oh duh, here's the right scene.
This means that the Kraken is coming for Jack and does not sit well with the captain and he orders Gibbs to head to land, any land. In all of the confusion , Jack the Monkey (who I neglected to mention yesterday) knocks Captain Sparrow's hat into the ocean and lands into the boat of fishermen, whose boat is dragged down by an unseen creature. Meanwhile at Fort Charles Prison, Will informs Elizabeth as a part of his plan to capture Jack but Governor Swann does not Will to free himself and Will.
Will heads to Tortuga to start his search for Sparrow and through a montage gets various different answers as to where Jack is, including getting slapped by a woman. Seems like Jack never learns and meanwhile Governor Swann was able to procure escape for him and his daughter but it was all for not as Beckett had caught up to them. Meanwhile, Will had been caught by cannibals and taken to Pelegosto Island and there, the tribe believes to Jack to be their chief, which means that they plan to eat him and oh, also Pintel and Ragetti show up here as well.
Will tries to get the attention of Jack but to no avail and he is instead, caged up with the rest of the crew. Who happen to be all caged up.
More to the point on Jack, they believe him to be a god in human from and want to release him from his fleshy prison. We see the cages are hung over a ravine and the crew of The Pearl try to escape and swing their cages to climb up a hill and Will says that he'll need everyone but one of the crew members, Leech in the other cage says that about 7 will do and eggs Will and Gibbs' cage on in a race but it does not end well for Leech and his men as they fall to their deaths. Meanwhile, Captain Sparrow catches wise to what is going on and starts to run. Escaping and he escapes with his life in tact and the tribe now turn to the prison guard dog as their new god.
While, that is a sight to behold, that isn't exactly how it went down in the film. It was something more along the lines of this.
Okay, I will agree with the complaint that this sequence goes on too long. Pintel and Ragetti were trying to commandeer The Pearl for themselves but it's all for not as the crew shows up and get in, to take to the high seas. Back on the ship, Will reveals to Jack that he needs Jack's compass. Captain Sparrow brushes him off instead ordering Gibbs to head upriver. Jack then continues to explains to Mr. Turner that the key, that he is looking for will help save Elizabeth. Speaking of Miss Swann, she had escaped on the Edinburgh Trader posing as a man. And the men on board the vessel start to think that the ship is haunted by a vengeful spirit as they see her dress and Elizabeth uses this to her advantage to get the ship to go to Tortuga.
Meanwhile, the crew of The Pearl head to the Cypress Forest to meet Tia Dalma, a voo doo priestess that practices all type of magic. Think Mama Odie but with a thick accent. And more mysterious and not all that she seems.
There, she reveals the tale of Davy Jones and how he was once in love and tried to spare himself the pain of losing love by cutting out his heart and placing it in a chest. She also informs Jack that he keeps the key to the chest with him at all times, as she also explains that Jones is unable to set foot on land for another decade, she offers Jack, a jar of dirt as protection.
Sparrow takes it, at first not sure what to make of it. Tia Dalma then reveals the location of the Dutchman and The Pearl sets sail to find it. And there, Turner volunteers to go aboard the ship. However the ship, that he boards is not the Dutchman but he soon meets with the crew, who had been on the ship so long that that sea creatures have assimilated to their body and Will is lined up with other survivors , where Jones questions whether the man fear death. And Jones takes notice of Will and that he is neither dead nor dying and demands to know his purpose aboard the Dutchman and he states that Jack Sparrow had sent to settle his debt. Davy Jones uses his supernatural to make himself appear on The Pearl to confront Jack, himself. As Jones reminds our lead that his time has ran out but Jack points out that he was technically only captain of the Pearl for two years. Jones refuses to accept that and points out that Jack had introduced himself as Captain Jack Sparrow for all those years. Sparrow make a negotiation with tentacle faced one to harvest 100 souls in three days and heads to Tortuga to find these souls. The first of which being Will Turner himself and Jones removes the Black Spot that was placed on Sparrow by Bootstrap Bill. As mentioned earlier, Miss Swann also makes her way to Tortuga playing on the superstition of Edinburgh Trader. Sparrow and Gibbs go to recruit a new crew and the fifth recruit happen to be a familiar face. James Norrington and you can see life has not been kind to the poor man.
Gibbs: [while recruiting in Tortuga] And what's *your* story?
Norrington: My story? It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas. The pursuit cost me my crew... my commission... and my life.
[he swigs some rum]
Gibbs: [a pause, as it dawns on him] ... Commodore?
Norrington: [suddenly angry] No, not anymore, weren't you *listening*?
Norrington: [drunk and angry] So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow...
[he draws his pistol and points it at Jack, who is hiding behind a pole]
Norrington: ... or should I just kill you now?
Jack Sparrow: [tries and fails to hide behind his pole] You're hired!
Norrington: Sorry. Old habits and all that.
[smiles and prepares to pull the trigger]
And personally, I like this better. As I mentioned in The Black Pearl review, I wasn't too big on Norrington in the first film but they actually took him and made him a more interesting character by taking everything away from him. He had nothing to lose as he had already lost it all. Making him a tragic figure was such a smart move on the writers. A bar brawl is started out and before it can get anymore out of hand, Miss Swan knocks him out. I find that this exchange pretty much sums up, how far Norrington had fallen.
"James Norrington. What has the world done to you?"
"Nothing I didn't deserve."
This just shows how far, Norrington had fallen from grace. Unbeknownst to our colorful characters, Beckett's henchman , Mercer was watching the goings-on. Back aboard, the Dutchman, Will Turner earns some lashes after one of the crew tells Mr. Turner to secure the mast tackle and here, Will meets his dad as they both attempt the same job and Bootstrap notices that Will is his son and ends up letting go of the line. Causing the younger Turner to drop a hoisted cannon into the deck and earns some lashes, as the crew member, Jimmy Legs prepares to whip the young Turner but Bootstrap intervenes and reveals to Jones, that he is Will's father and Jones, then makes Bootstrap lash his own son.
This is easily one of the hardest moments in the film to watch because here Bootstrap is being forced to hurt his son, that he had just reunited with and you could see the pain in his face, as he did not want to do this. But he was given no other choice. Back at Port Royal, Beckett reveals to Governor Swann that Mercer had spotted in the company of the Captain.
Really, it took me this long to make that reference. Of course, it wasn't that captain. Though I wouldn't be too surprised if Captain Jack had a bottle of rum in each hand. Beckett convinces the Governor to relinquish authority to him assuring Elizabeth's safety and the Governor agrees. Yeah, that wasn't the smartest decision but he didn't really have any other choice.
Back on The Dutchman, Will notices the crew playing a game of Liar's (Pirate's) Dice and his father explains the game to his son, even though Will picks up on pretty quickly and they are betting the only thing they have, years of servitude aboard The Dutchman and learns that anyone can be challenged and Will challenges Davy Jones as he wants to try and win the key. Bootstrap Bill doesn't want his son to lose and joins in the game.
I guess they didn't want to give kids, the impression that lying was okay. Even though, their second animated movie taught that moral. Just pointing this out but it's just the way, I see it. Later on, the younger Turner steals the key and makes his way off of The Dutchman but promises his father, that he will come back for him.
And Will rows to Edinburgh Trader , and Jones realizes that he doesn't have the key, making him realize that Jack is after his heart and he summons the Kraken to attach the Edinburgh Trader and it falls hard.
That's another thing, I've noticed about this film and it's successor, they really raise the death count compared to Black Pearl. That seems to be something that happens a lot in sequels, that they think in order to raise the stakes, they have to kill off a higher amount of people. Has there ever been an action movie sequel, where everyone lived at the end? Not any, that I can think of. Now obviously, Will is able to escape. Hey, he doesn't die in this film. Jones sets sail for Isla Cruces, where his heart is buried. Because Jones cannot set foot on land, he sends his crew to do his bidding, and Jack, Norrington, and Elizabeth set foot using Jack's compass that can point to whatever you most want and Will teams up with them and we get the best sword fight in the entire franchise. Just watch. Everything about this fight is just awesome and I have to say that I'm personally fond of the part on the wheel.
This has the best choreography of any of the sword fights in the POTC films. It is just executed beautifully and I can never get tired of this scene as this scene is the best scene of all the Pirates films. It is just so much fun to watch and hmm, this is how you up the stakes. Oh, Elizabeth partakes in a chase with Pintel and Ragetti.
And I just the look on their faces as they looks odd to them but then they just go back to what, they were doing before. Honestly, this entire scene is just pure fun and I love how they keep going while the wheel is rolling down the island. They don't give a care to what's going on as they are focused on the battle between one another. Meanwhile, Captain Jack gets away from Turner and Norrington and gets the chest and opens it and takes Jones' heart and leaving the chest empty. And as a precaution, Jack places the heart in his jar of dirt.
Captain Sparrow gets cornered by the crew of The Dutchman and plays coward and drops the chest and run. But Captain Sparrow doesn't have the heart of Norrington sees it placed in the longboat that they used to get to the island and takes the heart. Everything seems calm for now but The Pearl after escaping the island is attacked by the Kraken and at first, Jack continues to show his cowardice as he takes a longboat and rows away and Elizabeth realizes this and calls him a coward but he goes back to help and regretfully gives the order to abandon ship. As Elizabeth takes note, she kisses Jack and chains Sparrow to the mast. Oh, and Will sees the kiss and says nothing but is hurt. You really had to go with that cliche. But Jack stays behind and attacks the Kraken but it is all for not.
That doesn't seem right. Oh, here we are.
And The Kraken drags The Pearl down below the sea and Jones declares Sparrow's debt paid. But not all is at it's seems as his heart had been stolen and proclaims.
"Damn you, Jack Sparrow!"
Back at Port Royal, Norrington returns and does not give him the compass but instead the heart of Davy Jones.
Back at Tia Dalma's the survivor of the attack drink a toast to Jack Sparrow, where Elizabeth is feeling guilt over what she did to Jack and Tia Dalma questions how far the crew would go to bring back Jack and they say, they'd go to the end of the earth.
“All right. But if you go and brave the weird and haunted shores at World's End, then you'll need a captain who knows those waters.”
And who should show up but Barbossa.
And the film ends as he asks
"So tell me, what's become of my ship?"
I love this film, this is my favorite film in the trilogy as it is just so good and it really up the stakes to great heights and makes you want to know what happens next.
Plot Devices
Now, we have a few Plot Devices to cover and let's begin.
Jack Sparrow's Compass
Jack Sparrow's compass became really important in this film as Lord Cutler Beckett was after it, for the heart and we learn that it's special it points to what you want most. He got it off of Tia Dalma and it's a special/magical compass.
Jar of Dirt
The jar of dirt is really important for Jack as it can protect Jack as he can use it to protect himself from Davy Jones and he even uses it to put the heart in.
Dead Man's Chest
Ah, the namesake of the film. The chest that contained Davy Jones' heart and whoever got the chest, got the heart and could control Davy Jones. It was easily, the most important thing in the film.
Ship
The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman is just creepy. This ship could strike fear into anyone that sees it and the fact that the crew are slowly becoming a part of the ship and losing their sanity. It's kinda creepy and rather effective in what it does.
Characters
Per usual, this'll be broken up into Main, Supporting, and Villains. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Main Characters
Captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp
I'm not sure what to say about Jack. I guess the best way to describe to Jack is that, he is a bit overused in this film but I still like him and his story of trying to evade death is entertaining enough but I don't know, I feel like his arc when to say Will reuniting with his father was less interesting as the film really didn't take any further in development than the first film and just let him be the same Looney Tunes character that people expected from him. Which I guess can work and while he did still some great moments but overall, it felt like nothing new was done with the character.
Will Turner played by Orlando Bloom
Re-watching this film made Will Turner, my favorite character in the franchise as he just is so likable and this film continues his arc in becoming more of a pirate. Something that he resented in the first film and yet, he is becoming one. Though, my favorite aspect of Will and perhaps my favorite subplot of the film is Will reconnecting with his father aboard the Dutchman and showing that he will do anything for his father and doesn't have any remorse.
Elizabeth Swann played by Keira Knightley
Like Will, Elizabeth continued to grow over the course and shown that once again, she is more than just a damsel in distress. And this movie showed that she can hold her own in a fight but I'd argue that Elizabeth truly comes into her own in the third film.
Supporting Characters
Tia Dalma played by Naomie Harris
Tia Dalma is a great character.as she is mysterious and you really don't know that much about her past in this film and I like that she is shrouded in mystery. She proves to be very useful to our heroes.
Bootstrap Bill played by Steallan Skarsgard
I really like Bootstrap, he came across as a genuinely good person that got entangled in something that is bigger than himself.
James Norrington played Jack Davenport
As I've mentioned many a time before, James Norrington was rather flat in Black Pearl but in the sequel by taking everything away that meant something to him, you made him a more interesting character as now after losing everything, he had nothing more to lose and just wanted to make the man who made his life, a living Hell pay for what he thought Jack Sparrow did to him.
Villains
Lord Cutler Beckett played by Tom Hollander
I really like Cutler Beckett, he's a great villain. As he is just cold and ruthless and willing to stop at nothing to get what he wants. In many ways, he's a pirate in sheep's clothing. Let me explain this, he hates pirates, mainly Sparrow but isn't above using their methods and sometimes worse to get the job done.
Davy Jones played by Bill Nighy
Davy Jones was awesome as a villain. I really like this take on Jones as he was just someone that you do not mess with and in many regards, he is a bit of a tragic character and At World's End goes into that even more. While one can feel bad for him, that feeling doesn't last for very long, once you see how he treats his crew. As he believes that the afterlife should be just a cruel as life itself.
My Final Thoughts
All in all, this is a great film. It is just a lot of fun and a blast to watch and I have fun every time I watch it. To me, it holds as the best Pirates film in the franchise. Join me next time as I close out my look at the Pirates film as I look at...
At World's End.
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