Film Details:
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (12A)
Action(2006)
150mins US
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley

Won Best Visual Effects at The 79th Academy Awards® (25th February 2007)

LondonNet Film Review

Director Gore Verbinkski, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and the entire cast return for Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a lively if somewhat unevenly paced romp with plenty of buckle to swash and some truly awesome special effects.

Fans of the first picture will find much to enjoy on this second voyage - not least Johnny Depp reprising his Oscar nominated role as the most fey and quixotic pirate ever to sail the seven seas (well, four of them at least). Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, with matching tans, kindle a smoldering screen chemistry amidst all of the flotsam and jetsam, while Bill Nighy essays a truly memorable villain in the multi-tentacled form of Davy Jones.

Supporting cast have been press-ganged back into service, and the screenplay strikes the right offbeat tone - yo ho ho and gallons of rum (what else is the crew of the Black Pearl to do during those cold, lonely weeks at sea?) Ever-crafty Jack Sparrow owes a blood debt to Davey Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman.

Thirty years ago, Jack wagered his soul, in a Faustian pact, in exchange for possession of the good ship Black Pearl. Now the agreed three decades have passed and Davey intends to collect what is rightfully his. Unable, or rather unwilling to pay, Jack faces the terrifying prospect of an afterlife of eternal servitude, which the conniving captain would rather avoid (if it's alright with Davey and his marauding minions). So he hatches a hare-brained scheme to track down the fabled Dead Man's Chest, which is rumoured to contain Davey's still beating heart.

But first, Jack needs to locate the key to open the chest. Meanwhile, pirate hunter Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) from the East India Trading Company condemns lovebirds Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) to death for their part in Sparrow's escape. Culter promises them a full pardon if Will agrees to hunt down Sparrow and barter for his magical compass, which once belonged to soothsayer Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris).

Will reluctantly accepts the terms of Cutler's deal and heads for the island of Tortuga, where a number of familiar faces including disgraced Commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport) and double-act Ragetti (Mackenzie Crook) and Pintel (Lee Arenberg) join the hunt. Once again, Depp steals the film with his flamboyant outbursts, facing almost certain death with an exasperated "bugger!" in the trademark cod-English accent.

The screenwriters provide him with a treasure trove of sparkling one-liners, especially during heated conversations with Will and Elizabeth. When the lovely lady dares to suggest that Jack is really a good man at heart - "There will come a moment when you have the chance to do the right thing," she affirms - he gleefully mocks her misplaced trust. "I love those moments," he smirks, "I love to wave at them as they pass by".

Verbinski unleashes his most expensive and impressive computer generated special effect - a hideous sea beastie called the Kraken - no less than three times, which seems a tad excessive. However, he also orchestrates a thrilling swordfight using a runaway giant wooden waterwheel, and a hysterical escape from a cannibal island. Digital trickery, employed to bring to life Davy Jones's motley crew of barnacle encrusted, deformed minions are spectacular, and make Captain Barbossa's skeleton crew from the first film seem tame in comparison.

Dead Man's Chest isn't completely ship-shape. The film noticeably takes on water in the second hour, and threatens to capsize under the weight of excess narrative, including a protracted reunion of Will and his long lost father, Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgard).

Thankfully, the pace increases to a jaunty rate of knots for the thunderous finale, which ends, teasingly, on a double cliffhanger that hoists the mainsail rather nicely on Pirates Of The Caribbean 3, due to reach port in May 2007.

Sophie Abell