Pirates of the Caribean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - 8/10

POTC: Dead Man's Chest is my first foray into a direct sequel. Which is unfortunate since I don't really know how I want to go about these. Especially films that are part of a 'franchise' like this. Do I try to review them in close succession? Do I let the randomizer take me out of order? Do I makes it a series? For now, we're going to treat it like the others without ignoring the greater context it is in. Let's jump in. 

1. Acting

The tone of this movie is noticeably more comedic then the original. As such, the actors lean a bit more into their 'funner' side. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both seem looser in their approach this time. Bloom especially seems to be embracing a more comedic approach to Will's facial expressions and line deliveries.

Yet, just as with the first film, the star of the show is Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp, like his fellow leads, is noticeably looser. However, what struck me was how much more refined Sparrow felt this time around. It felt more like Depp had really figured out more of what he wanted to do with the character. So everything from the slapstick physicality, to the dry wit, to the pivots to seriousness and fear all felt more... self-assured? I don't really know the right word for it. 

I also enjoyed Jack Davenport's return as (former) Commodore James Norrington. He was good in the first film, but the character had to be more restrained and uptight. He too, benefits from the looser approach in this film and getting to show other sides to Norrington. 

As for new characters - Bill Nighy as Davy Jones is a wonderful addition to the cast. His performance as Jones is obviously meant to be scary and intense. But where he shines the most is the subtleties of Jones. There is a sense of sadness to the character even before we learn more about his history. It makes every moment engaging. Obviously a lot of praise to the VFX team here who helped keep Jones as highly emotive despite all the CGI involved. It really helps sell the lovely performance.

2. Cinematography

Again, much like the first film, this movie has some stunning visual. Its playful with color and lighting and the bigger budget pays dividends for the VFX team's work and versatility in both day and night settings.

3. Production/Costume Design

There seemed to be less to innovate in the film compared to the original. Most of the props and costumes are familiar so they get overlooked. The strength this film has then is getting to focus on the various set pieces. In particular there is the water wheel scene that we will talk about later. 

4. Writing

As I already mentioned, this film seems to have made a clear effort to bring more comedy than the original. I think that was in part because they had already laid most of the groundwork for the world building in the first film. All they had to do now was craft the exposition for the new villain and help set the stakes for the plot that is unfolding. 

There is also a lot of playfulness with references from the first movie. There is frequent call backs to some of the iconic lines and moments of the first film. More specifically, I liked how willing they were to be subversive with their self-references. It made it so that the call backs weren't pandering fan service - rather it was more like they were poking fun at themselves.

Now, as for the plot of this film, it is largely fine. This was clearly written to be a bridge film to turn this into a trilogy. Therefore the bulk of the plot is simply introducing the new villains and then setting the stage for the conclusion in part three. This also means that the film doesn't really stand on its own. Most storylines go unfinished and the plots points of this film are artificially elongated at times to stretch things out. Once you zoom out the entire story is Jack needs a key and Will/Elizabeth need a pardon. They all through happenstance converge to find the key. Then the box it goes to. Then they open it. And that's where we leave things off. The rest is just filler for the runtime. That doesn't mean the writing is bad - its just recognition that this film is only part of an incomplete story that uses humor and filler to entertain instead of story.

5. Sound Design

Much of the sound effects and score were already established in the first film so the work here was minimal in comparison. With that said, the additional themes in the score, especially with regards to the new villain, bring a nice freshness. I especially like the inclusion of the organ and the operatic tones that it brings to the story and character of Davy Jones.

6. Editing

Coming in at 151 minutes, this is a bit longer than it probably needed to be. With that said, I think that is more of a screenplay problem than an editing one. Otherwise, it matches the fun and energetic style of the first film. 

7. Visual Effects

I mean, do you have a few hours to talk about the VFX? I obviously will try to keep this succinct, but there are some incredible VFX work being done once again by Industrial Light & Magic.

Let's just start with the crew of the Flying Dutchman. Each character is unique in their design and their execution was great. The motion capture technology used resulted in reality based performances despite the overall magical design. Unfairly though, they suffer when put up against Jones himself just do to the sheer level of detail put into the main villain. 

The other main villain of the movie is of course the Kraken. The design of the character is well done and it was a smart and practical move to keep most of the character a mystery below the waterline, letting the audience's imagination fill in the blanks. The real strength though is the integration of real elements with the digital. The scenes involving the Kraken were facilitated by using miniatures - specifically the ships which helped bring a sense of realism. And of course, at the end when Jack faces off with the Kraken, the use of practical slime was played for both comedy and realism. 

Now, the biggest achievement of the VFX team was by far the design and execution of Davy Jones. 2006 was in the middle of a massive growth of VFX capability and ILM, as per usual, pushed the technology as far as they possible could. Everything about Jones is photo-real despite being a very magical character. The use of motion capture including facial mapping was not a new technique, but it hadn't managed to achieve this level of realism before. That's because the animation team spent an immense amount of times perfecting the look and feel of Jones. The specular highlights on his skin are flawless. The animation of his beard/tentacles is flawless. His ability to emote in human ways is flawless. It was an incredible achievement for the time and still looks better than 95% of CGI done to this day. It's on my Mount Rushmore of CGI characters alongside Thanos, the Na'vi, and the Caesar the Ape. 

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation

This being a sequel almost negates its ability to be original. And as I've already mentioned, this is a bridge movie that has trouble standing alone. 

9. Stunt Coordination

The stunt work on this film raises the already high bar for the POTC films. The one things I really want to highlight here is the incredible sword fight from the third act. The three way sword fight is excellently executed and is doing my favorite thing that great stunt work does - it is telling its own story within the story. 

The real crowning achievement during this fight is the sequence on the water wheel. Working heavily with the production team, the stunt team crafted two fully practical wheels to use and actually enacted everything you see on screen. They smartly decreased the amount of sword 'moves' they used in order to focus on moving both on top of and inside the rigs. It was a planning process that took place over months and the results speak for themselves. 

10. Direction

Gore Verbinski returns to lead the team and the achievements they made were great. Despite the relatively simple plot, they figured out a wealth of ways to keep this middle entry entertaining.

Legacy/Final Thoughts

I hate to keep calling this a bridge film, but that is what it is. The legacy for this film then, is finding a competent and fun way to continue this story and elevate it above being just another cash grab sequel. The POTC trilogy is not perfect, but these first two entries are excellent. My only fear is getting around to the finale which I recall not liking nearly as much as these first two. Tune in next time I suppose.