| Category: | Movies | | Genre: | Action & Adventure |
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Dead Man's Chest
The second installment of PoTC leads the pack of trilogies that'll air this 2006-2007. In the theater, I don't know whether I'll be excited to watch the movie or catch the Spider-Man 3 teaser trailer lol. But anyway, initially, I am there for Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. I exited the theather thinking that I was there for all of the characters.
PoTC2 wasn't much about the story. There is a story: pirates and Davy Jones, the Cracken, Flying Dutchman and of course, the Black Pearl. Oh yeah, Elizabeth and Will getting married and all that; what is a love story if there is no triangle? *winkwink* The Flying Dutchman reminds me of SpongeBob hahahahahah. And in all the years I've known who (or what) Davy Jones is, never in my imagination did I picture something like that. Lol...
Johnny Depp is Captain Jack Sparrow. Nobody will ever play him like he does. I'm not seeing PoTC like Star Wars, where 10years since the last movie comes out, a set of prequel movies will be made. He's in his usual Jack Sparrow drunken - sometimes schizo - self. Nothing new on his character.
There is a huge improvement -- more like improvements -- on Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). I also some improvement on Orlando's acting per se. Will's character is more of a leader in this movie. He has powerful lines and scenes in his own and unlike in "Kingdom of Heaven", Orli assumed this position quite well. I was more comfortable watching him as Will the leader than as Balian. He makes us laugh too a couple of times. Didn't know Orli had it in him to do soft comedy. A little skin exposure is good too.
Keira Knightly is young. Her portrayal of Miss Swann in the last movie made her look 30years older. On this one, the 20-something came through. She's like a kid, free from the corsets, petticoats, heels and gowns. Armed with two swords and a gun, she reminds me of Legolas.... light and thin and agile. And she's a *bad girl*.
The secondary characters (there are quite a lot) are more entertaining than the primary characters. The two pirates previously under Barbossa's wing are now on Sparrow's side and the thin one with the removable eye is such a laughtrip! He recounts the happenings for the other Black Pearl members and for the viewers as well.
The other characters: Davy Jones, Bootstrap Bill (yes, William Turner, Sr.), the general something -- do have shallow storylines for now. Yes, save it for the third installment. Several familiar faces are back but the two that made me soooo excited for the third movie were Norrington and Barbossa himself! Five seconds of screentime was enough to make me itch for PoTC3.
Tip: Before watching PoTC2, do watch the first movie. Or else, you won't understand the significance of some of the characters and you will not feel half of the excitement. I remember the girl sitting beside me going, "Who's that? What is he doing there? Anong nangyari? (What happened)." Poor girl, you could've enjoyed the movie if you only watched the first one before spending P90.
Complaint/s: I could understand the lack of richness in the story and the abundance of loose ends in the ending. My only complaint is there are scenes (especially with the Cracken) that are confusing. There are a lot of things going on at one time. And usually, these scenes were a tad too long; it got kind of boring. But once you get over that, it's a fun movie.
As the movie ended, a lot of questions rose. It's like the Matrix Reloaded, starts with something -- no ending. It left you hanging. Thus saying that in order to understand the last movie, you have to have watched this one. Or else, PoTC3 wouldn't make sense. Orlando is the master of trilogies; it's official. Especially of the trilogies-you-have-to-watch-from-first-movie-to-the-third. :D
Rating: ****1/2
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