Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Directed by: Gore Verbinski | 150 minutes | action, comedy, adventure | Actors: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Stellan Skarsgård, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Mackenzie Crook, Tom Hollander, Naomi Harris, Lee Arenberg, Martin Klebba, Anthony Patricio

How do you make a successful sequel to a brilliant film that has made millions (even billions?)? One of the most important elements is a strong story. Often a sequel consists of an almost literal repetition of the first film and with that the sequel flops just as often. In addition, it is always a great advantage if the protagonists from the first film also participate again. In any case, never put another actor in front of the same characters (as they did with Kees in Flodder, for example), because that is guaranteed to fail.

Pirates of the Caribbean. Dead Man’s Chest’ is a successful film in both respects. Let’s start with the story. Again, there is talk of a real pirate film, but there is no repeat of ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl’. The references to part one are therefore not annoying, but rather funny and surprising. After the great adventure from the first part of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) sails around the world with his Black Pearl. Meanwhile, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) are trapped for helping Jack escape. Only if Will manages to bring Jack’s (Captain Jack!)’s special compass back to the governor will he and Elizabeth be released. When Will is gone to find Jack and the compass, Elizabeth manages to escape and goes after him dressed as a sailor. This is the beginning of a new adventure, in which the cursed Captain Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) as well as Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård), Will’s father, play an important role.

Just like Pirates of the Caribbean. The Curse of the Black Pearl’ has turned ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ into a true pirate adventure. Do not expect any profundities from the film, but a great visual spectacle, because that is what ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ has become above all. The images of tropical islands and huge sailing ships remain beautiful and the special effects complete the picture. You can see sea monsters (or actually there is only one) destroying ships and prisoners hanging in cages high above huge canyons. The power of ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ lies in these dazzling visuals combined with a great cast. As in ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl’, Johnny Depp once again steals the show with his interpretation of Captain Jack Sparrow. He manages to portray Jack as he did in ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl’ without creating a caricature of the character. It is not without reason that Depp was previously nominated for an Oscar for this role, because Jack Sparrow makes ‘Dead Man’s Chest’, just like his predecessor.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ copied the clever trick of the open ending of ‘Lord of the Rings’, leaving you full of questions after two and a half hours. The biggest question is: What’s going on between Jack and Elizabeth? Well, we won’t know until after watching part 3. There’s a lot more to say about this movie, but it all boils down to one thing: If you’re looking for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean. If you found The Curse of the Black Pearl’ worthwhile, you should definitely check out ‘Dead Man’s Chest’!