Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
If you have been paying attention to all the reviews to appear online you may have caught on to the trend that the major media outlets have enjoyed bashing the film while the internet publications are praising it. Considering that Dead Man's Chest is your ultimate summer blockbuster, I guess we should have expected the bad to come with the good.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Reviews
Take for instance the two reviews below. Entertainment Weekly decided to bash the film -- I guess I should point out that they bashed Curse of the Black Pearl as well -- giving it a grade of 'D+' while IGN Filmforce couldn't stop raving about it.
Entertainment Weekly
Yes indeed, Pirates 2.0 is a theme ride, if by ride you mean a hellish contraption into which a ticket holder is strapped, overstimulated but unsatisfied, and unable to disengage until the operator releases the restraining harness. There's a big moviegoing chasm between joy and Pavlovian response, and this baby plunges headlong into the abyss in a summer when other equally escapist big deals manage to keep their wits about them.
So, first to the barely intelligible plot -- not that the plot in Dead Man's Chest matters a fig anyway, except insofar as young sweethearts Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) are once again thwarted from, as they say in classic pirate movies, getting it on. This time what stands between the two photogenic romantic leads is bluster from a new villainous British prig-in-a-wig, some twitty adult who demands that Will do some impossible thing or another to earn his freedom. Or else. (Or else what? Like we'd care? Like Will and Liz are anything other than whirling teacup figurines?)
Filmforce
The first film took a little time grabbing hold of audiences. It built slowly towards the reveal of Sparrow, and those moments in which he was absent for long periods of time tended to drag a bit. The film was a lot of fun, but overly long and, at times, a little unsure of its focus. Dead Man's Chest has no such issues. Sparrow is the center of the story, and Swann and Turner are the straight men. They're part of the adventure but always overshadowed by the Sparrow -- not necessarily a bad thing.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is every bit as entertaining and fun as the original. It may even be just a bit better. The action certainly steps it up and delivers in a major way. There's more Sparrow, which is always a good thing. And while it's too long, even the slowest moments offer strong story points that compliment the adventure-epic vibe. Fans of the original are going to love this sequel, and a few who may have been bored by the lengthy development of the characters in the first are going to appreciate the quick intro.
See what I mean?
Check out the full reviews for POTC: Dead Man's Chest by clicking on the bold links above (new window).
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opens tomorrow, July 7th.
For pics, movie stills, posters, trailers, TV spot, more early reviews, movie info and synopsis, go to the Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Movie Page.
Stay tuned for updates.
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