This entry is written for MovieRob’s May 2024 Genre Grandeur of Sword Fights!
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is a 2006 Disney live action movie directed by Gore Verbinski, and is based on the original ride in Disneyland: Pirates of the Caribbean. It is the second installment of five, and is the original sequel.
Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow who is caught in a dilemma with Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Years ago, Jones resurrected Jack’s beloved Black Pearl from the depths of the ocean, but at a cost which Jack has yet to repay, which is either serve aboard Jones’s ship, The Flying Dutchman or be dragged to his locker by the Kraken. Jones put a dark mark on Jack in order to remind him of this debt.
Getting wound into Jack’s scheme are Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) whose wedding was interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) with their arrests due to them helping Jack escape in the first movie.
After reuniting and escaping from a cannibal island, Jack and Will learn Davy Jones’ backstory from Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), a voodoo priestess. Putting a long story short: he cut out his heart and put it in a chest after being stood up by the women he loved. He then turned into the monstrous, harsh, tentacle creature, and took control of the sea monster the Kraken.
In what ends up to be a battle for Davy Jones’s heart, each of the characters have a reason for finding the dead man’s chest. Will wants the heart to free his father Bootstrap Bill (Stellen Skarsgard), from a lifetime of service aboard the Dutchman, Beckett via James Norrington (Jack Davenport) of the Royal Navy wants the heart to control the seas, Jack so he can save himself from Jones’s punishment, and Jones himself so he doesn’t die!
I have loved this film practically since I first saw it. It was one of the first movies in which I could grasp the multi-story lines going on and being an adventure film, it held my attention even during the non-action scenes. The humor and the personal touches the actors bring to their roles just made the movie that much better. I did not get to see this movie in theaters, however I did see the third, fourth and fifth installments in theaters. The fifth one was seen on opening day!
It’s also pretty notable that while this movie uses CGI and special effects, it is not entirely reliant on them. It was that fantastic era of the mid-2000’s of using CGI only when you needed it, and only used to create something you couldn’t create by hand. In today’s movie making world, I think it has shifted too far with everything being CGI, and it’s so refreshing to look back and see real props or real sets that are not fake.
My favorite scene has to be the 3-man sword fight on the beach, that travels into the jungle and even onto a wheel! It’s always been my favorite scene because of the action, the humor, and the actors. Yes, there were stunt doubles, but most of the time, it’s the actors doing the stunts with the swords. It just adds to the authenticity to see the actors using real physical swords- always thrilling and exciting to watch!
The other most favorite scene of mine in this movie is the, “Jar of Dirt“, scene which is completely improved by Depp. It starts off as nonsense, but quickly evolves to be one of the most clever, hilarious, and memorable scenes in the entire Pirates franchise. It never fails to make me smile!
It is however the ending that is truly THE best scene of this movie, as you know its being set up for the third installment: At World’s End (2007). I’m not going to spoil it here, but the it is just the best thing that could happen for the events that just went down.
Overall, this installment of Disney’s Pirates series may be my favorite. The third movie has the best fight climax scene of the maelstrom, but this one has an intriguing dilemma of Jack and the gang each needing each other- but also battling each other, which makes the dynamic interesting. It will always hold a special place in my heart- and truly is the best of that mid-2000s feeling of technology without the overkill, and storytelling at its finest.
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The Flapper Dame 