Gore Verbinski starts with a portentous opening scene of unused teacups filling up to overflowing with a torrent of rain water, and from there the story spins deliriously from stem to stern — like a drunken pirate — from ship to ship, island to island, and all of it leading our hapless heroes and heroines always, inexorably, back to the Flying Dutchman.
But before Davy Jones will have his due, Jack and Will, along with the Black Pearl's motley crew, must escape the clutches of a bunch of very hungry natives. In a volley of hilarious scenes, Jack fends off the natives with fruit while trussed up like a suckling pig, while his crew rolls — literally — through the jungle in giant cages to escape their captors. And once they are free, it's time for the Jack to double cross Will, and for them to meet the damned ship on a stormy night.
The Flying Dutchman and its crew are bleak and imaginatively hideous. Being damned at sea for a hundred years sure takes its toll. As the crew ages in their begrudging servitude to Davy Jones, they change. But not in a good way. They become one with the sea, and the sea and its denizens become one with them.
Davy Jones himself sports a new doo of writhing tentacles, and a lobster claw in place of one hand, and his crew runs the wondrous but icky gamut of sea life, from fish to crustacean, and any semblance to the humans they once were is purely coincidental.
Which is unfortunate for them. Especially for the ones pulling deck duty the longest. They eventually wind up as part of the deck itself. In one heart-stopping scene, one of these crewmen pops out from the hull, leaving some important bits of himself still attached, to convey a cryptic message to Jack. The foley team earned their paychecks with these scenes, as they pulled out all the stops with their squishing, shell-clicking sounds that echo from the man-fish crew and Davy's squiddy, breathing sack of a head.
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
I just spotted this review on the front page of Google News. Great job!
2 - Iloz Zoc
Great. One-Eyed Willy will be impossible to deal with now that his review is popular. Thanks Phillip for pointing out Google News. One-Eyed is pretty giddy about that one. It is cool.
I'm stymied by the vitriolic reviews by many of the critics. After reading some of them, I still can't fathom why the strong negativity. Dead Man's Chest is simply a fun romp, and sports some of the most creative and effective art design I've seen in a long time. Go figure.
3 - Mary K. Williams
Very good write up!
The movie was a lot of fun, too bad I missed the part you spoke of after the credits.
4 - Patrice
I am looking for a picture of the Black pearl ship on a stormy sea. I am a painter and want to paint the picture,but I need the Black Pearl with full sales up. I also need the stormy clouds in the background. Can anyone send me a pic? Or tell me where to find it?
Thanks
5 - pirates tree-girl
The movie was so good, every one relly enjoyed it, well done to every one!!!
6 - Taylor
That was very good!!!! ♥Taylor♥