Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Saw this over the weekend, and I have to say it is difficult to review this movie properly. It is the first of a two part story which means that you can’t completely judge it until you see the whole. Most of the nits I will pick can be attributed to this.

Overall, this is a fun movie that will provide some laughs and some good action. But, it just isn’t as tight as the first film; there are portions of it where the story has to explain too much. This bogs the film down and loses that sense of rushing headlong from one danger to the next that the first film had.

Another issue was the humor of the film was more forced than the first; there were moments when the film referenced its predecessor and bludgeoned you over the head with the fact that they were making a joke. There were still some genuine bits of comedy, most notably the discussion on how to pronounce Kraken, but the film tried too hard at times for a joke.

But, the bottom line is I would see this film again; the fight scene on the water wheel is one of the more unique scenes in recent memory. Keira Knightly is luscious as ever, and I like the twist they put on her character at the end. If this film was meant to stand on its own, I would probably not be as forgiving, but it hopefully sets up a fantastic finish in next year’s release.