"POINT OF REVIEW"

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
Directed by Gore Verbinski


Who would have thought that a film based on a Disney theme park ride would turn into such a smash at the box-office ($135.6 million in a record breaking weekend). Well, if you told me that the film were to be produced by mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI, Bad Boys, Armageddon, man who bought a small-town for his wife) and it would star the eccentrically lovable Johnny Depp as a quasi-queer pirate who appears to be a close cousin of The Rolling Stone’s Keith Richards, named Jack Sparrow -- then I would have said: “Oh yeah, I can see that being big”. Throw in Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, two of Hollywood’s most yummiest thespians and a bunch of special effects and I bet you could make the Tea Cup ride into a blockbuster as well.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is a fun ride (ha ha, get it? ride? nevermind). It is an immaculate summer movie. It has a story (believe it or not) and some really funny and action packed sequences. The film takes place a year-or-so after the first Pirates and has Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) about to marry Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), but not before they get arrested for helping Captain Jack from the first POTC and now must find and convince him to work for the government in exchange for their freedom. From that point on, I wouldn’t say that Dead Man’s Chest is the most coherent film of all time, but then again how coherent can a pirate film be. Like I said, with such a talented cast and producer (I’m not sure Gore Verbinski had much to do besides pointing the camera in the right direction and cashing Jerry’s cheques) -- the film pretty much rolls from one fun scene to another. Basically the filmmakers come up with a reason for all this fun (a mysterious Dead Man’s Chest) and then off we go! Pretty simple, eh? And when things get even remotely boring, Verbinski knows that the best way to fix that is to simply bring out Johnny Depp.

There is no denying that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest would not even be half as fun without the presence of Johnny Depp and his Captain Jack Sparrow (Disney ironically hated Depp’s interpretation of the character, but an Oscar nod and millions of dollars later, Disney seems to have shut their mouths). Johnny Depp makes the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Period. No “ifs”, “buts”, or “ands” about it. Every minute of the film that contains Johnny Depp just makes you smile. Pure entertainment.

So besides actually going to a Disney theme park this summer, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is probably going to be one of the most fun things you can do (Go see Superman Returns also -- refer to previous review below). I wonder what Disney ride they will make into a movie next... How about Space Mountain starring Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise...


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Lots of fun!!!

The Bad: Whenever Johnny Depp is not on the screen.

The Law: Go see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest for some adventure and laughs. THEN go see Superman Returns! (What can I say -- I am a loyal Superman fan)