Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest - A Sequel Under Scrutiny

Those who are big fans of the first “Pirates…” will understandably complain about the second, pointing out that it has become “heavyweight,” with an “overabundance of details,” “indulging in characters at the expense of a plot that’s treading water,” “a failed middle section,” and “a loss of the former lightness.” And, of course, they’ll harp on the ending: “Why release a sequel if it’s not a sequel without a third installment, but just the second episode of Stirlitz?” Fans of everything that’s trendy to spend money on will do the exact opposite…

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006) wasn’t born yesterday, and it knows it perfectly well. It was born before the third installment, after the original, which we know perfectly well. But that’s the fate of any second child in a large family – to be out of place.

The Critics’ Perspective

Those who are big fans of the first “Pirates…” will understandably complain about the second, pointing out that it has become “heavyweight,” with an “overabundance of details,” “indulging in characters at the expense of a plot that’s treading water,” “a failed middle section,” and “a loss of the former lightness.” And, of course, they’ll harp on the ending: “Why release a sequel if it’s not a sequel without a third installment, but just the second episode of Stirlitz?” The same thing was attributed to “Shrek 2” (2004) in relation to the first. But even the Renaissance is still criticized just because there was the Baroque after it, and it’s better not to remember the Rococo at all. Watteau’s folds, the journey to the island of Cythera – what Cythera, for crying out loud, score, gooooal!!!

The Fans’ Embrace

Fans of everything that’s trendy to spend money on will do the exact opposite when they spend their hard-earned money on the best tickets. Having downloaded the clips, trailers, and wallpapers, they know in advance that now they need to savor every new turn of Johnny Depp’s head, every braid in his beard, and the length of his frock coat relative to his waistcoat, not to mention the leather tricorn hat lost in the first frames, compared to the other acquired hats. Their heated delight will be ensured by Keira Knightley’s dressing up in a boyish sailor suit, entering the circle of initiates of the cult Tom Hollander, and introducing the fashionable Voodoo religion into the circle of initiation. Fashion fans will immediately begin to assert themselves on the knowledge of the details of Voodoo rituals or the activities of the East India Company in the mid-18th century. The most advanced will be proud of their knowledge of Leviathan, but only to count how many tentacles the octopus had that grabbed the ships, and how realistic it is to stab them with sabers, cut them off with cannonballs, and blow them up in a heap with gunpowder barrels above sea level.

Depp’s Dedication and the Film’s Depth

But is that all Johnny Depp left his children and Vanessa Paradis with a comfortable villa in the South French gardens for? He can take money without makeup, which, presumably, Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer understand perfectly well. No, the world in which only Knightley’s pretty face is a failure, only twisting her lips under any circumstances, has become self-increasing, like the cost in Marx, and where else can you find such a thing these days? Like Depp, who is joking about new beads in his beard, true connoisseurs just need to continue to believe that everyone is a child at heart, all children are pirates, all pirates are dirty octopuses, hammerhead sharks, shells, corals, and only walking corpses look decent, like Lord Beckett. And then the sequel will play with all the colors of the rainbow. Each phrase is worth its weight in gold (“The dichotomy of good and evil,” “I really want to get married,” “Go to the sound, comrade, go to the sound”). Each territory is vast (Port Royal, prison, sea, island with cannibals, Voodoo island, “Pearl,” sea, “Flying Dutchman,” Tortuga). Every human invention is immortal (winch, wheel, gunpowder, rum, key and lock).

A Tale of Immortality and Intertwined Fates

True connoisseurs do not need a retelling of the plot about Koschei the Immortal, whose heart is in a casket, the casket is in a chest, and that is buried on an island, which only the compass will show, which the East India Company wants to get, sending Will Turner, insidiously interrupting his wedding with Elizabeth Swann, to Captain Jack Sparrow, who also owns a drawing of the key to the casket, which is located at Koschei the Immortal himself, in this case, the captain of the “Flying Dutchman,” who over the years has acquired the appearance of an octopus. The plot of the film is not at all about how the casket was searched for and how many times the key changed hands. No, Will, Elizabeth, and Jack Sparrow are actually one. It is one three-headed creature that gets into trouble. And how it gets into trouble, what it will surprise with, how much of a creature it is so as not to become disabled – the plot is more exciting. It is precisely in the dispute of excessive details, which of them is better. Escaping from prison in a floating coffin or inventing a ball and a wheel. The dramatic image of Stellan Skarsgård or Johnny Depp’s truly perfect plasticity. When the octopus captain plays the organ, it’s from the Renaissance Bosch, and when the snail head was looking for a mortal body, it’s just very funny. It’s a pity for the dog, although acquaintances assure that she is cunning and will eat everyone herself before she is eaten. The remaining many scenes are cute and homely, which is why they are not initially passable in such a whirlwind film.

A Darker Tone and Nuanced Humor

But everyone will understand that the film has become somewhat darker, and not because of the cute sea monsters, but because of the dominance of the night and “noir” editing. The film has not lost in laughter, but not stupid, as before, but more subtle, including references to “King Kong” (2005) on the island of cannibals and to “Star Wars” later.

The film has become more entertaining, primarily because of the “disability” of the ending. After all, they knew that something would happen, that it would not just end like that, well, here you have a mean girl “with psychology.” What no one expected…