Live Action Discussions: POTC - Dead Man's Chest

[ichabod]

<center>Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

</center>

Charming rogue pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back for a grand, swashbuckling, nonstop joyride filled with devilish pirate humor, monstrous sea creatures, and breathtaking black magic. Now, Jack's got a blood debt to pay -- he owes his soul to the legendary Davy Jones, ghostly Ruler of the Ocean Depths . . .but ever-crafty Jack isn't about to go down without a fight. Along the way, dashing Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the beautiful Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) get caught up in the thrilling whirlpool of misadventures stirred up in Jack's quest to avoid eternal damnation by seizing the fabled Dead Man's Chest!

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Yes I know this is very soon after the last discusiion, but now it can coincide with the R1 DVD release!

Anyway, my feeling towards Dead Man's Chest are some what up in the air. To be honest the first film Curse of the Black Pearl never did much for me, so I was never that bothered about seeing the sequel. But off to the theatre I went and well my feeling were mixed.

In terms of the story, well I was very disappointed that it wasn't more and didn't come to much of a head, obviously we are all aware that it will be concluded with a 3rd installment and many film / book series have to at some point have a "laying the groundwork" period, which is pretty much what Dead Man's Chest does.

I honestly have to take my hat off to Dead Man's Chest in one area, that is that i was rivetted to my seat, on both occassions I have seen it. And for a plot heavy film which lasts 2 and a half hours, I got through it without getting bored, something which the first film didn't do for me and most 2 hour plus adventure movies like the Lord of the Rings films didn't. Perhaps a reason for this is that unlike a film which starts somewhere and goes somewhere in an A to B fashion, Dead Man's Chest is more like a series of events, which don't have a feeling of building towards something, so in a way what I criticize it for, I'm saying I like, if that makes sense!

The film is packed with comedy, drama and lots of action, the kraken, the chase in the jungle, the fight for the chest so even though it has no overall arc other than the prepare for At World's End it's not short of entertainment.

But why this movie made me come out of the theatre grinning like a cheshire cat (something which films don't usually do) is because of the gorgeous art direction. I honestly lost count of the amount of times when watching the film that i just thought to myself "Oh, My, God!" I have honestly never seen a film as visually stunning as Dead Man's Chest. From the costumes to the sets I was in awe throughout. And unlike most high seas pirate films, the colour palette is not drab. The film is alive with such a vibrant, lush and fresh colour palette. Certain scenes and set ups still are clear in my mind, such as the scene near the end of the film where the villagers are in the water holding the candles at night time. Dead Man's Chest is a feast for the eyes and I love it, watch it with the sound off and forget about the plot. Adore this film as a piece of art!

I love it! I love it! I love it!
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Next time: Babes in Toyland

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[NarniaDis]

Not nearly as good as the first nor is it the best movie of 2006 but still a very good kick-butt movie

[RachelSmachel]

Definitely a good movie, I really enjoyed it. Not without its flaw though. It was a bit too long, could have benefited with a edit here and there. I felt the cannibal scene was completely unnecessary and could have been cut. It wouldn't have made too much of a different, all you would loose would be some slap stick humour. The revisiting of jokes could have been done better too, it felt too heavy handed (as in "wink wink, look how clever we are, remember that?). The whole feeling of the movie was a little strange, but I'm willing to forgive that because it is meant to lead on into the third movie.

That being said, I found the plot to be fairly interesting. It was funny and packed a punch full of action. I really loved some of the characters that returned to this movie (Norrington, Ragetti and Pintel). I also adored Tia Dalma and her creepy shack and I LOVED Davy Jones. Can't get enough love for that guy. It prompted me to buy a little figure of him As ichabod said, the scenery, costumes and effects are absolutely gorgeous. An absolutely beautiful sight to be seen. The lighting was wonderful also; it really gave depth and atmosphere to the movie. I was absolutely gob-smacked when I learnt that Davy Jones was completely CGI, it was just so well done. I've purchased the visual dictionary, so that I can revisit these scenes over and over.

Not as good as the original I feel (which I adore) but it's a solid movie that I would recommend everyone to view once.

[lord-of-sith]

I love the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I prefer CotBP slightly over this one, but this one is still a great film! It's main flaw of course is that it is too long. I could easily see many little bits being cut out. But, best of all, it was nice to see my favorite character from CotBP back (albiet at the very end).

[dvdjunkie]

I am such a fan of the first "Pirates" moive that I couldn't wait for this one to come to the theaters. And I saw it 12 times in the theater, I loved it so much. Now I only paid to see for my wife and I three of those 12 times, the rest of the time we were treated by someone else, or because I work part-time as a projectionist I got in for free. We aren't allowed free admission for the first two weeks of any 'major' motion pictures (i.e. Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, et al).

I look on this film as the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Pirates trilogy, so I wasn't expecting any more than I got. I will join with Ichabod and others by saying that the art direction is very Oscar-worthy, and I hope that it at least gets a nomination. It IS truly a feast for the eyes.

I didn't find it overlong, and I thought the little bit at the end after all the credits was truly very funny. I can't wait for "At World's End", and we don't have to wait for it too long - May is just around the corner.

[MickeyMousePal]

When POTC: DMC came out in the theatres I went on the first day to see it and then went on the weekend to see it again because it was the best movie this year. I really love POTC: DMC but POTC: CotBP is way better since the acting and the personality of the characters is express more then the sequel.
Also the POTC: DMC had too much graphics compare to the first one.
Anyway POTC: DMC is one of my top 10 Live Action Disney film and will get it tomorrow.

I really hope Disney doesn't take out a 3-Disc set of POTC: DMC in May to support POTC: AWE...

[akhenaten]

the sequel is by far more fast-paced and solid that the overrated predecessor. it had more story going on that it makes the first movie seemed miniscule. as for the cannibal scene, it has been explain by ted and terry that it was somewhat to show that jack is neither save on land nor sea, be it civilised land or otherwise. he's always vulnerable to danger from davey, EITC and savages. try playing both movies simultaneously at the same time and around half an hour you'll find that pirates 2 would have progressed further in the story department. and look at the 27th minute or so...a miracle will occur. both movies will display similiar shot back and forth..of elizabeth and jack at the dock in the first movie and elizabeth and will in the cell in the second one.i dont remember the exact minute but it was from the 25th to the 30th minute. try it. dont think im crazy

the only problem that i have with the second movie is that the sequel is an afterthought which makes some parts of the first movie less eventful and appear as a smaller scale episode of jack's colorful adventures.

and davey jones is one of the best disney villains ever!

[numba1lostboy]

I just bought my copy! I'm watching it now. I should be asleep, but I don't care!

[ichabod]

the only problem that i have with the second movie is that the sequel is an afterthought which makes some parts of the first movie less eventful and appear as a smaller scale episode of jack's colorful adventures.

Yes, I usually am not to fond of "afterthought" movies", but as the makers described somewhere (a TV special perhaps) they took great care to carefully pick at threads from the first movie, to give the appearance that it wasn't an "afterthought". It does have a sense of belonging I feel, after all it could've made no reference to the first and gone off on a tangent with no ties.

[akhenaten]

i couldnt help but echo beckett's sentiment..."i care not for aztec gold"... yet still hold DMC at a high level 4 being disney's greatest live action film since mawwypoppens.wait thats going a bit too far..erm...since 'honey i shrunk the kids'.

[Ktrek]

This is by far my favorite movie of the year. I don't know if it will be nominated for any Oscars but it should be for special effects if nothing else. If I have any complaint at all about the film it would be Orlando Bloom. To me he is just another pretty boy with very elementary and limited acting skills. You keep hoping he will be somewhat Errol Flynn like but he never reaches there. However, the other aspects of the film are so well done that I can forgive Bloom's poor acting. Let's hope that the next POTC film is not a big let down but ends the trilogy on a high note.

Kevin

[akhenaten]

it better b for disney since they threw away the opportunity for producing LOTR. they must b koncking their heads off for dat stupid decision.

[numba1lostboy]

it better b for disney since they threw away the opportunity for producing LOTR. they must b koncking their heads off for dat stupid decision.

Every studio is knocking their heads off for that stupid decision.


And Ktrek, you never know. Johnny got nominated for the first one, and if you ask me, it's about time he won himself an oscar.
I could easily see DMC getting nominated for best special effects and make-up.

[Siren]

I really enjoyed this one. Sometimes as much as the first, sometimes not.

It think they overplayed the old jokes a bit much too, but that was the beauty of these movies, they don't mind making fun of themselves. Afterall, the movie is based on a ride, and they make quite a few puns and bows to the ride, so why not to the first movie as well?
I am still trying to get over Elizabeth's decision in the end. I was very suprised by it. But also think it was a nice touch. She's lived a life of luxury for so many years and fantasized about pirates, so it showed a dark side to her, that I guess I wasn't really prepared for at the time. Afterall, all her talk to Sparrow about "doing the right thing". I guess in the moment, she thought it was the right thing and then deeply regretted it.

Being there is no preview to POTC3, you can bet another edition of the DVD will be released when POTC3' theatre release date draws near.

[numba1lostboy]

Being there is no preview to POTC3, you can bet another edition of the DVD will be released when POTC3' theatre release date draws near.

I don't see how a preview for the third movie would make or break a second (or third, actually) edition of DMC. AWE is set for an early summer 2007 release. There wouldn't be a point to releasing DMC that soon when we all know it's going be released with AWE's DVD.
The thing that made me expect another edition was the lack of special features compared to what we got on COTBP. We got no deleted scenes, and only one "Fly on Set" featurette, and that featurette that was touted as "the creation of Jack Sparrow" was nothing more than an in-depth look at his clothes. And where are the good commentaries??
We will be getting another edition, no doubt about it. Maybe even, dare I say it, an unrated trilogy. Usually, when a studio releases a DVD without deleted scenes, an unrated or director's cut edition is not far behind (ala Lord of The Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, etc). I'm betting once all three movies are out, we'll be getting some sort of gorgeous-wonderful boxed set.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

it better b for disney since they threw away the opportunity for producing LOTR. they must b koncking their heads off for dat stupid decision.

I doubt they're regretting it that much. Different companies means different distribution strategies, it could also lead to differen cast/crew members. There's no way to tell how successful LOTR would've been had Disney held on to it.

Besides, had Disney held on to it, Disney probably wouldn't have distributed Narnia, which imo, is a 100 times better movie.

Did Disney need Lord of the Rings artistically? Of course not.

"All those movies were just about two gay hobbits walking to a f**king volcano."

Here's hoping Clerks 2 gets nominated for Best Original Screenplay!

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

I don't see how a preview for the third movie would make or break a second (or third, actually) edition of DMC. AWE is set for an early summer 2007 release. There wouldn't be a point to releasing DMC that soon when we all know it's going be released with AWE's DVD.

Sadly, when movie studios(Disney included) release movies expected to be huge, they usually rerelease films that somehow connect to that film and promote it all over the DVD.

[Escapay]

The thing that made me expect another edition was the lack of special features compared to what we got on COTBP. We got no deleted scenes, and only one "Fly on Set" featurette, and that featurette that was touted as "the creation of Jack Sparrow" was nothing more than an in-depth look at his clothes. And where are the good commentaries??

Ditto.

Also, COTBP got an unnecessary (but still welcome) double-dip with the three-disc giftset a year after its initial release. It would have made more sense to release something like that last May to help promote DMC. However, DVD release practices from 3 years ago differ from release practices now (otherwise, Disney wouldn't have bothered with a single-disc edition at all).

We will be getting another edition, no doubt about it. Maybe even, dare I say it, an unrated trilogy. Usually, when a studio releases a DVD without deleted scenes, an unrated or director's cut edition is not far behind (ala Lord of The Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, etc). I'm betting once all three movies are out, we'll be getting some sort of gorgeous-wonderful boxed set.

IA, and I'm still holding to my theory that Christmas 2007 will see a single and two-disc release of AWE (the two-disc simply to appease fanatics like us UDers), as well as a three-disc movie-only trilogy boxset (similar to the X-Men Trilogy). Disney is loving POTC too much to limit themselves to one final release next year. Then, to milk the cash cow even more, Christmas 2008 will see a new exhaustive six-disc trilogy boxset (either all the existing 2-discs packaged together or something entirely new). I wouldn't mind extended editions, but the movies are long enough as is.

What I would love to see in the Pirates releases is a nice longform documentary, not a less-than-40 minute "play-all" option of smaller featurettes. While it does make it easier to jump from one aspect of production to another, sometimes a "play all" doc gets very disjointed, especially when there are additional featurettes that are quasi-related-but-not-really to the main documentary.

Escapay

[slave2moonlight]

I'm a huge fan of these movies. I almost didn't get the DMC DVD though, because of the anticipated rerelease. Thought I might try and hold out, but I couldn't. I picked it up at Circuit City because they had it the cheapest, but they didn't have their freebie there (big surprise, they "didn't come in").

Anyways, the thing that struck me so much about this movie was how much it borrowed from "The Empire Strikes Back." Now, they did it well, and I'm a huge fan of both series, so I don't mind too much. But, man, are they ever similar. You have the dashing rogue, you have the fiesty girl, and you have the the Will character that is very much like Luke. Okay, they switched the romance part around, but this film actually flirted with a love triangle idea a little, but you even have the two pirates that are reminscent of R2 and 3PO. The movie is, like Empire (my fave Star Wars flick), a fantastic bridge between two films that focuses on fun action and eye candy, and setting up plot points for the 3rd film. Then, in the end, there's the big cliffhangar where the rogue character that everyone loves and who really carries the series, gets left in a dire situation that his friends must band together and rescue him from (like Han in carbonite, on his way to Jabba the Hutt). Not to mention the enlistment of a once traitorous character's help, Barbosa, something akin to Lando (though Lando wasn't as bad a guy as Barbosa). The Black Pearl is also not unlike the Millenium Falcon, Han Solo's precious ship. There are probably even more comparisons one can make, but I don't have all night. Plus, I haven't even watched my DVD yet, though I've had it since the release day.

I actually haven't seen Dead Man's Chest, since theaters, when I saw it... at least twice. My feelings on it were a bit mixed. I loved it, but perhaps there were some bits that went on a bit too long since they weren't that important to the story, and I was surprised with how different it felt from the original film. The first was much more lighthearted and carefree, and there's another comparison to the Star Wars classic trilogy, but in this case I think I MAY prefer the first, more lighthearted film rather than the second. But, who knows. After watching the DVD a few times, maybe that will change. Like I said, I loved both films, but I think there's something about the original, for me anyway, that is just a bit more fun. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing DMC again though, I'm dying to get the Davy Jones figure by NECA to go with my Jack, Will, Barbosa, and Elizabeth figs, and I can't wait for the 3rd film!

[goofystitch]

The first time I saw this, I loved it, but like many didn't feel it was as good as the first. The second time I saw it it, I liked it more, but it still wasn't as good as the first in my eyes. Now that it is on DVD, I watched the first and then the second and I now like the second film better. The reason? I think that I liked the first film better because of the subtle jokes that ran every 15 minutes or so, but those jokes have gotten old and I don't laugh at them so much any more. To me, the second film is much more adventurous and the action sequences make my jaw drop (and are funny in some cases). The abundance of action and jokes in the second and possibly just the fact that I've seen the first so many times makes Dead Man's Chest my favorite of the two films at the moment. Over time, my tastes may change, but I can't wait for the third installment.