Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

-Directed by: Gore Verbinski

Starring:
-Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley

Ok, so...to make a good pirate movie you need the following: a clever pirate, a hero, a damsel, and a really big sea monster. Check, check, check and oh boy is it huge check. This movie was singularly worth the wait, and Verbinski upped the ante with a bigger movie all around. There's more action, more adventure, and let's just say it..MORE JACK SPARROW! Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow will likely go down in the history books of cinema as one of the most enthusiastically insane creations of all time, but that's what makes him fun. He's just strange enough, and just smart enough that you want him to succeed. Depp transforms himself completely to become the pirate captain. There's a certain run, a certain expression and his deadpan expression when he says "Oh Bugger" are priceless.

My complaints are fairly short and to the point. Actually, there's only just the one really. This movie, while I enjoyed it, is a tweak long winded. Clocking in at nearly three hours long, this is a marathon of pirates. It seemed like they were trying a bit to hard to capture their audience. Yes, they succeeded but the effort was not unnoticed.

What you should know is this movie can be a little gross. With the arrival of Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman, there's a certain slime factor that is completely appropriate but just a little nose wrinkling at the same time. My suggestion? No eating seafood beforehand. You'll thank me later, I promise. There's also the same mix of pirate speak you had in the first film of the series. But what has this movie earning a rock solid PG-13 is that it has some scary moments courtesy of the REALLY Big Monster. But there's nothing overly graphic which I appreciated. I prefer to be thrilled instead of grossed out.

The bottom line here is that this movie is perfection for the summer. It's funny, it's bold, it's brash. A venture Captain Jack himself would be proud of.



-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
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