*** Official PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Dead Man's Chest Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Some of my favorite moments, as well. The whole sequence with Jack trying to escape while tied to the spit was LOL hilarious.

I was hoping Barbossa would show up earlier, as he's my favorite character from the first film. Hopefully he'll have a much larger role in the third film.

The CGI was quite good thoughout, except some of the Krakken scenes.

 

[Benson R]

I disagree with the assessment that the movie is trying to setup Jack as the bad guy. I do agree that Davy Jones is not necessarily the bad guy.

But clearly Lord Beckett is. It was hard to follow the plot, but it was apparent that Lord Beckett is not ridding the world of pirates for good. He is working for the East India Trade company to give it total control of trade in the world. And he plans to gain control of Davy Jones to do this.

Sparrow seemed to have a change of heart at the very last moment, and I would guess when he comes back he will act with not just himself in mind anymore.

 

[Lynda-Marie]

There IS a spoiler near the end of this post, but I can't get the spoiler cover thingie to work!

This is a "super mega summer blockbuster" type movie I enjoy.

Having spent years reading the history of real pirates, it is quite amusing to see little bits of the "real thing" popping up here and there. Jack Sparrow seems to be a combination of several real pirates - the cocky flamboyance of Calico Jack Rackham, the brilliance of Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, and the cunning of Sir Francis Drake.

Elizabeth seems to be a "spoiled little rich girl" who got bored and turned to piracy for excitement. Which sounds similar to the history of Anne Bonney. Elizabeth's dressing in male garb was a trademark of Anne's, and her friend, Mary Read.

There were some quibbles I had with this movie, however.

1. Sound quality - the music and sound effects sometimes overwhelmed the dialogue.

2. The "witch" - I could not catch her name, due to the above mentioned problem. I also had a difficult time understanding her, but that is due to my unfamiliarity with Caribbean accents/dialects.

3. Norrington planting the seeds of suspicion in Elizabeth's mind with the comments he made about the fate of her latest fiancee. How did HE know Jack tricked Will into boarding the Flying Dutchman? This was the first time we saw him since the end of the CotBP, and he was not aboard the Black Pearl to witness the exchange between Jack and Will.

4. Where is all the information about Davy Jones coming from? It seems everyone is an expert on Jones, his history, his motivations and his power. Sure, there is probably a lot of rumors going around, but everyone seems to have SPECIFICS that are actually true about him. It is surprising that Beckett, a nobleman, would have paid any such rumors mind, being as it is the gossip and tall tales one of his class would disdain as peasant superstition.

5.

[Spoiler/]How did Barbossa come back from the dead? Jack waited until the curse was broken to shoot Barbossa in the heart at just about point blank range. He fell over, unequivocally DEAD. I liked the character, and I love Geoffrey Rush, a wonderful actor, but the explanation for THIS one had better be good. And why would the "witch" think he would be willing to help out anyone associated with Jack Sparrow, whom he betrayed and abandoned to die? Especially since Jack Sparrow returned the favor once the curse was lifted?[/spoiler]

 

[Lynda-Marie]

N/M

 

[MikeRS]

I remember posting this when the original came out:


I think the writers realized this too.

On first viewing, I have to say it's not as tight as the original (and even the original had some fat). But the "sum of the parts" (great creatures/special fx/action set-pieces/character dynamics) left me with a good time feeling as I left the theatre. This film REALLY aims to entertain and mostly succeeds.

Plus, the last 40 minutes are a blast.

Here's the thing some of the negative critiques miss: The reason so many folks adore these films is because THEY REALLY LIKE THESE CHARACTERS. It's as simple as that. That's the hook. The characters are what make these many (!) action set-pieces transcend proficient craftsmanship. They do not come across as overdone or monotonous to (I suspect) the majority of the fans because the character dynamics are completely part of the design. It's an 'edge' this franchise is definitely riding right now.

And Pirates are just cool....especially supernatural ones.

 

[Patrick.C]

Anyone venture a guess as to what it was that Jack picked up (stole) from the Voodoo woman when she walked out of the room to get his cannister of dirt? He seemed very interested in what was on the table. Barbossa's things, perhaps?

POTC3 At Worlds End does indeed take place in Singapore. A picture of Capt. Jack from the third film:



I was told that the characters on his new uniform spell "Pirate".

 

[Rhoq]

Norrington was aboard the Black Pearl when Captain Sparrow sent Will to find the key and the entire crew of the Black Pearl was present (which, at that point in the film, would include Norrington) when Jack told Will what to say to Davy Jones in regards to settling his debt.

 

[Josh.C]

For some reason my attemps to post a review have all failed due to internet problems, so I am going to try to quickly post a few of my problems with this film

1. Too much CGI. I have no problem with the way they used it in the original. The crew of the undead becoming skeletons in the moonlight.... Perfect reason to use CGI. However, why did they need to turn Davy Jones and company into the next cast of Sponge Bob Squared Pants. Man, did anyone else feel this really cheesed up this movie? I couldn't take any of them seriously. Here are guys that are supposed to be the scariest, meanest, ugliest, most wretched pirates of the sea, and instead I got to look at hammerhead man, and squid face. I for one would have much rather seen a more fleshy version.

2. I really fealt like they took one good story line, and tried to stretch it into two movies. This one was way too long, and seemed to keep dangling just enough fun action sequences in front of us, so (like little monkies) we overlooked the fact that there was no story until the last 45 minutes of the movie.

3. The few new characters we get in this film just come out of nowhere. How about using some of the dead time in this film to actually explain the characters. Even the two guys (sorry can't recall their names, but one had a fake eye ball) from the first film, just showed up out of nowhere.

Thats enough for now, but don't worry, I have more.

JC

 

[Malcolm R]

I thought he took a ring. Not sure what the significance is at this point. Jack must have had some sort of plan, though. I can't picture him calmly walking into the maw of the beast if he didn't think he could get out of it. That's always his great strength...he can generally always get out of any horrible situation.

Did anyone else find the sound mix very front-loaded? I was in a DTS theater, but there seemed to be very few surround effects. I know the surround sound was on, as there was some surround to a few scenes, but it didn't have that "enveloping" sound field that most of the big films have.

 

[Bryan Beckman]

My local theater showed the movie in what I'm 99% sure was STEREO sound only. What really drew my attention to it was the opening shot of the film: Kiera Knightley in a rainstorm. I immediately thought, shouldn't I be hearing rain all around me? Nope - just what was in front of me. Periodically I would turn my head to the left/right to see if the surrounds were running (especially during the Kraken scenes), but I got nothin'.

Coming off of two screenings of Superman Returns in IMAX 3D, going back to a "regular" first-run theater got a big from me. I sure hope it was the theater and not the sound mix - talk about a wasted opportunity if it's the latter.

 

[Chris Will]

Josh,

I pretty much agree with everything you posted.

 

[Mike.P]

Honestly, I found the surrounds to be wildly underused in my theater, and its one I trust - in actuality they usually overblow the sound a bit and have the base cranked way too high, but in this case I only remember the surround coming in to play once in particular.

Definately may be the actual mix issue, but I'm sure others on here may have experienced otherwise.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Patrick - Love the photo. Where did you get it from?

I thought the film made it perfectly clear.
1. Let's assume that Jack is definitely dead. (A reasonable assumption, I think, unless he does a Jonah.)
2. Therefore, he is in the world of the undead, wherever that is.
3. This is what they mean by "the world's end" - the end of the physical living world.
4. Barbosa was definitely dead - and was therefore also at world's end.
5. He found a way to return to the physical world, and he therefore "knows the waters" enough to be able to lead everyone in to rescue Jack.

That is how I interpreted the film's ending.

As for why he would be willing to help - I fully expect him to have ulterior motives for helping them. Revenge is the obvious reason.

 

[Malcolm R]

Sounds like Depp is game to keep playing the character in even more sequels in a new EW interview:


Anyone know why they didn't put anything about the third film at the end of the second? I've heard a few people grumbling about the inconclusiveness of the ending, unaware that there's a third film already in production. A "to be continued" or "Pirates 3: Coming May 2007" might have headed off these few criticisms.

 

[Beau]

Though I didn't really care for all the supernatural/vodoo stuff, if it means we get more Barbossa in the 3rd... W00T!!!!!!!!!11 Besides a few action sequences, I was a little dissapointed with this one. Only Barbossa's re-appearance makes me want to see the third.

 

[Pete-D]

Finally saw it. Theater was packed even for a 10:30 Monday evening show.

The first half of the film is slow and a bit dull. The second half really picks up though, both in terms of action and the character relationships. Good stuff.

They easily could have cut 15 minutes from this movie to make it leaner ... which is scary, because that probably would've allowed for more repeat business box office wise.

Overall though it does deliver on the fun factor. Lots of good action scenes and squashbuckling adventure. Maybe a tad too much CGI ... but the CGI was quite well done, and the kids/teens probably have no qualms with it.

 

[Matthew_Def]

Could you be specific with this criticism? I hear it so much, and it has become something everyone uses in criticizing a film. They use it so off-handly as well.

15 minutes is pretty significant in movie time, it's not like the the studio wants the film to be 2.5 hours. People are paid strictly to edit film after all.

Personally I can't see how cutting 15 minutes would be beneficial. Everything seemed in this film seemed to be there for a reason and I loved the pace of the film. If you cut out a sequence you risk making the film more confusing underboiling the characters, and messing up the pace. If you cut little things here and there, you risk changing the pace and possibly cutting little character moments (which these films thrive on).

Although if you have a good suggestion, I'd seriously love to hear it. I think it's a thing worth discussion.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Yep, he's really bad. He has the Kracken sink ships and pressgangs the sailors into his service. And all because a chick hurt his feelings.

How do you all suppose they'll fit Keith Richards into this?

 

[BrettB]

How are they going to handle the dog?

 

[BrettGallman]

I have a quick question: why exactly did Jack want Davy Jone's heart? As a bargaining chip? If this is the case, why is he so opposed to Will stabbing the heart and killing Jones? I mean, if Jack wants Jones off his back, why not just let Will kill him? I'm sure I missed it somewhere in the film (maybe this is what Jack said to Will when he went to open the chest).