Live Action Discussions: POTC - Dead Man's Chest

[azul017]

I liked the film, but I think the writers made it overtly complicated than it should be. Not to mention as previous people have mentioned, the recycling of old jokes (like Elizabeth being naked, Jack's penchant for rum and Will being a soprano) did get tiresome. I did enjoy it for what it was (Johnny Depp is still a hoot and I liked the action sequences near the end), but it got afflicted by the summer blockbuster curse: bigger and louder doesn't mean it's better.

I prefer the first movie over the second film. The jokes were funnier and I preferred Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa over Bill Nighy's Davy Jones -- Barbossa was both devious and charming, Jones is just slimy and repulsive. (Not to mention a subplot involving Will and his dead father just goes nowhere, but I assume it'll play a bigger role in the third film.)

[slave2moonlight]

Finally watched the sequel on DVD, and I have to say that it did seem better on repeat viewing. There's so much to the story, but I didn't feel anything was unnecessary or that it was overly long. I may have felt that way when seeing it in theaters, but I think that was because those seats are only comfortable for so long. Definitely a Masterpiece, as was the first. There's a certain charm the original has over the second though. I guess it's the fact that part 2 does go the direction of "bigger and louder." The computer effects though, I must say, are probably the best I've ever seen! But the main reason I'm posting is because of the "after the fact" issue of this sequel becoming a trilogy. We see that a lot nowadays, Scream being the strongest example to my mind of how that can seem like a weak attempt to disguise sequels as a true trilogy. However, Pirates comes off much stronger to me. The reason being that I can't help but feel that certain things in the first film WERE done with the possibility of a sequel in mind. Sure, maybe they didn't know what the story would be, but the bits like Jack's compass, the story of Will's father, and some other things, they all left me with questions in the first film. I remember always wondering what was up with his compass. They had to have been thinking about a possible sequel with those scenes in the first film. So, while it may have been written after the fact (and no, I haven't done any research on the subject), I'm sure there were some things thrown into the first film for the possibility of a sequel or trilogy, and not just things they went back and found when writing the sequel.

I also didn't feel, after watching DMC again, that the jokes brought back from the first film were as annoying or poorly done as some folks here have made them sound. Yeah, Jack loves rum, and that's part of his character. Some things have to remain consistent. I think that, in the long run, judging the films separately rather than as a trilogy, I probably will find more rewatchability in the first film. Though the eyecandy of the flawless CGI in DMC could make that almost even. The thing is, for me, watching the same action sequences over and over gets more boring than hearing the same jokes over and over. So, for me, even after seeing the first film SEVERAL times already, I'm not tired of it or anything. Only line I never cared for was that bloody corset line, "Try wearin' a corset!" Sassy one-liners can be gold, but, I don't know, some I just hate, and that is one of them. Anyway, really psyched about part 3 after watching two again! Definitely, for me, the icing on the cake of part two was the ending, with Barbosa showing up! They just did it sooo well too! With the apple and the monkey and all!

[Luke]

Well, I can finally throw my thoughts into the ring here:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/pirates-deadman.html

[PixarFan2006]

I saw this movie in theatres last year and I had a hard time following it since I did not see the first one. I bought the first movie on dvd earlier this year and I liked it. I bought Dead Man's Chest later and I liked it a little better then when I saw it at theatres.

It (The plot) may not be as good as the first film, but it is still fun to watch.

[AwallaceUNC]

While I prefer <i>The Curse of the Black Pearl</i> over <i>Dead Man's Chest</i>, I was probably more obsessed with the latter when it was in theaters than I ever was with the first. Despite flaws, which have been pointed out by others in this thread, I feel it's a very good sequel. Despite apparently not having been pre-planned, it felt organic. With the third movie now, it's very apparent that the last two movies share a story that feels a little distant from the first movie's story, but I'm impressed with the extent to which the Elliott & Rossio and the filmmakers were able to make the trilogy seem like a proper trilogy when they had to put it together in a relatively short period of time. Brilliantly funny and filled with fantastic action, <i>Dead Man's Chest</i> was one of the year's better movies and something Disney fans can be proud of.

...I LOVED Davy Jones. Can't get enough love for that guy. It prompted me to buy a little figure of him

As in an action figure or one of the porcelain-type figures found in the theme parks? If it's the latter, where did you find it? Davy Jones is as visually a fantastic villain as he is in voice and in deed (and I thought the religious symbolism surrounding him in DMC was both intriguing and unexpected, something they left out of AWE). It would be cool to have a mini-Davy Jones on my desk.

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.

I think that's probably true in Dead Man's Chest. Responding to the immense popularity of Jack Sparrow, DMC made Jack the main character and Will fell a bit to the wayside. I didn't mind too terribly, but Will's character was much more interesting and likeable in the first movie. Were you as annoyed by Bloom in <i>Black Pearl</i>?

-Aaron