They advertise this movie as the further adventures of Jack Sparrow, and in many
respects it is, however the movie is more about Orlando Bloom’s and Keira Knightly’
s characters than Jack Sparrow.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest takes place right where the last movie
left off. Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightly) are just about to get
married when they are arrested and face death for helping Jack Sparrow escape in
the last movie. They are told if Orlando can track down Jack and convince him to
come back and work as a trader on the high seas, then he will win their freedom.
Desperately trying to seek freedom for his future bride, he begins his trek. Jack
Sparrow on the other hand has been given the infamous Black Mark (remember
Treasure Island?) and is cursed by the infamous Davy Jones himself to an afterlife of
servitude and damnation unless he can recover the Dead Man’s Chest.
This movie is beautifully directed and the cinematography is amazing. As in the first
movie, there are many scenes that are taken straight from the “Pirates of the
Caribbean” ride at Disneyland. To our dismay, this movie has its shortcomings that
many of the fans of the original may not like. Let me first tell you that I absolutely
loved the first movie. It was amazing and a ground breaking modern pirate movie.
What made the first movie great was the chemistry between Jack Sparrow, Will and
Elizabeth, where Jack Sparrow played the role of a half drunk/half action hero who
was always conflicted with doing right or wrong. This time around the chemistry is
really gone and Jack Sparrow for all intents and purposes is a bad guy who only
wants to help himself. Forget about the fact that he had a close bond with the couple
in the first movie; the aspect of camaraderie is gone and it’s all about selfishness.
Jack is far from a friend in this movie and he is far from a hero. This new incarnation
really over-plays his drinking addiction. Instead of being half serious and half drunk,
he is really ALL drunk and it really becomes an annoyance. My last negative
comment is if you are expecting the magnitude of sword fighting the first movie had,
you will again be disappointed. This movie really didn’t have any sword fighting until
about an hour and a half in. To me that was kind of a bummer.
That said, I still enjoyed the movie. It was a fun family romp with lots of action, thrills
and special effects. The plot was great and the acting was above average. Even with
the bad writing for Jack Sparrow the movie was still a lot of fun and well worth
seeing.
What absolutely blew my socks off were the biblical elements hidden in the movie.
There are so many scenes in the movie that are purposefully trying to represent
analogies of Christ and his sacrifice. In one scene a boy and a bad ghost/pirate
make a wager of death, or close to it. His father then makes the same wager, helping
his son’s odds after it is evident that his son is going to lose. The father purposely
loses so that his son might live, paying the ultimate sacrifice. His son is shocked and
when he asks his father why he did it, his father tells him that his love for his son is
far too great to see him lose his life. He tells him that there is nothing that is owed
and that he is free. That is only one of the many Christ promoting scenes that are
intentionally in the movie. You might think that I am over analyzing the movie, but I
don’t believe I am. I interviewed the producer of this movie (Jerry Bruckheimer) and
he told me personally that he was a Christian and wanted to make sure that each of
his movies had subtle biblical messages. Thus, we have many in Dead Man’s Chest.
I strongly suggest that when you watch this movie you look for these examples and
talk about them with your kids. In another scene one of the pirates is trying to read
the bible. His friend makes fun of him, saying the bible is not true. Immediately, they
find what they are looking for. Was it a miracle? Subtle, but still there.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is pretty violent in some scenes and I
would probably recommend it for ages 10 and above. It is more graphic then the first,
and this time they do show blood. Much of the movie is action and comical violence,
however it is still somewhat graphic in some areas.
One of the reasons I am giving this movie 2.5 stars instead of less, is because this is
only the first half of this movie. It does not END; it stops and is over. (I’m hoping that
Jack Sparrow will turn from his evil ways and become the action hero he was at first.)
Because this movie is in two parts, it’s very possible that my thoughts will become
more clear in the next movie. If you are expecting a Hollywood ending and expecting
this to be one of many stories, then you will be disappointed. This is one story in two
movies, with the next installment due to come out next year. By the end of the movie,
you are thinking that it’s going to be impossible to wrap this movie up in 10 minutes.
Indeed, you are right. You’ll just have to wait for the next movie to see the rest.
Parental Warning: There is some action violence but the movie is pretty innocent.
Like I said, there are some graphic scenes done in a comical way. There are 2 off-
colored jokes but they will go WAY over your kids’ heads (and maybe even yours)
because they are so subtle. I would say that this movie is for 10 and older unless you
feel your kids can handle some violence.
2.5 of 4 stars
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