Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl, enthralled audiences because it's a 'œgenuine shiver-me-timbers sea frolic, not merely the movie based on a beloved Disneyland ride,' said Michael Sragow in the Baltimore Sun. So it's a major disappointment that the sequel is 'œeverything you feared the first would be: A theme park spectacle lasting 2 ½ hours.' What passes for plot'”two young lovers and their pirate friend search for the buried heart of seaman Davy Jones'”gets buried in a flood of repetitive action sequences and special effects. The first film's success was almost entirely due to Johnny Depp's inspired, vampy portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow, said Peter Rainer in The Christian Science Monitor. Yet he's oddly missing for much of Dead Man's Chest. Instead, the film lingers on lovers Will and Elizabeth, and features interminable scenes with Capt. Davy Jones and his scurvy crew. 'œCan it be that director Gore Verbinski and his screenwriters, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, don't understand the secret to their own success?' When Depp is onscreen, he's brilliant, said Rene Rodriguez in The Miami Herald. 'œHe's too good an actor to ever coast.' The screenwriters owed it to him to do a thorough rewrite to erase the story's plethora of detours and give this adventure flick the 'œsnap and speed it deserves.'

Rating: PG-13

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up