REEL CRITICSA movie worth its weight in pirate gold

When a film such as 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” earns more than $300 million in the United States alone, a sequel is inevitable. Such planning is already paying dividends for Walt Disney Pictures and producer Jerry Bruckheimer as the newly released “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” set a weekend box office record of more than $132 million in ticket sales its first weekend in the theaters.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” series is based on a ride at Disneyland rather than voluminous publications like “Harry Potter” or “Lord of the Rings.” Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio didn’t even have decades of comic book stories to draw on as did the writers of “Superman” and “Batman” films. Nonetheless, this writing team has been able to craft screenplays for “Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Dead Man’s Chest” and the third film in the trilogy, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” due to be released in 2007.

The first “Pirates” film was generally well-reviewed and even garnered a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for Johnny Depp, a rare honor for a comedic role. “Curse of the Black Pearl” cleverly borrowed many visual cues from the famous amusement park attraction and was a highly entertaining summer movie.

The filmmakers are lucky to have not only Elliott and Rossio return, but also director Gore Verbinski and all the major stars, including Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Pryce and, of course, Johnny Depp. Accordingly, there is a continuity of character, atmosphere and style that might not exist otherwise.

The very intricate plot centers around the blood debt owed Davey Jones (Bill Nighy), captain of the ghostly Flying Dutchman, by Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp). If captured by Jones, Sparrow must serve on the Flying Dutchman for eternity. Besides his ghostly crew, Davey Jones can summon a gigantic octopus-like creature from the ocean depths, which can engulf an entire ship and its crew, and drag them to the bottom of the sea. Sparrow is also pursued by the evil Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander), who arrests Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) just before they exchange wedding vows. Holding Elizabeth hostage, Lord Hollander sends Will to find Capt. Jack.

All this, of course, provides ample opportunity (with a running time of two and a half hours) for our gallant trio to continually get into and out of numerous supernatural crises that all involve first-rate special effects looking as though they cost every penny of the rumored $200-million budget. This film is definitely worth seeing in a theater, as any but the most elaborate home entertainment systems will not be able to do justice to the amazing images and thundering soundtrack.

Two key performances render this a movie worth seeing, namely Depp’s Jack Sparrow and Nighy’s Davey Jones. Some critics have stated Depp’s performance is not as entertaining as the first “Pirates” movie. I believe this is patently unfair. Depp has created a character nearly on a par with Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau or Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter. That he has done it while previously demonstrating perhaps the broadest range of any working movie actor is doubly impressive. This is not a case where an actor is “playing himself” or allowed to completely ad lib like Jim Carrey or Robin Williams in some of their more manic efforts.

Nighy gives a sinister performance in spite of being saddled with some of the most elaborate and feature-obscuring makeup ever seen. Jones’s head is basically an octopus with human eyes whose tentacles are constantly moving about his face. The effect is disturbing but mesmerizing.

Bloom and Knightley are more or less “eye candy” in this series. Bloom is tasked with looking alternately dashing and soulful, and gives a fine performance within these limitations. Knightley is one of the most beautiful actresses working and portrays the spirited Elizabeth as well as the script allows. Given her age (21), appearance and Academy Award nomination for “Pride and Prejudice,” Knightley will probably be “the” English actress for the next several years. Perhaps the most unbelievable sequence in “Dead Man’s Chest” is Knightley successfully disguising herself as a man to stow away on a cargo ship.

Critics who have panned “Dead Man’s Chest” need to remember it is a summer movie and, therefore, is to be enjoyed for the sheer fun of it. There will be plenty of time to mull over serious matters when the Oscar contenders are released next winter. It would not be summer without purely entertaining blockbusters such as “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” a seasonal celebration not to be missed.