Jul. 20, 2006 - 9:41 am

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

This was definitely one summer blockbuster that we had to go see. ...and apparently everyone else did as well. This movie has earned an insane amount of money at the box office already in just the first couple of weeks. It's well deserved. This is a great series of movies and you can really tell that everyone involved really loves making them.

This is the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie...of at least three. Be prepared because this movie has a completely open and unfinished ending. It is meant to lead straight into the next movie (a la Back to the Future II). In this film, Will Turner is forced by the authorities to redeem himself for consorting with pirates in the previous film. He and Elizabeth depart in order to try and get Jack Sparrow's special compass to return to the authorities in exchange for their pardon. They end up getting wrapped up with Jack's escapades again and meet the dreaded "dead" pirate, Davy Jones. Jones has another haunted ship that has men who have forfeitted their lives in servitude to Davy. He also has a terrible beast called the Krakken, which can expertly destroy any ships necessary. Things definitely get crazy in this film.

Jill and I really enjoyed it. I thought Bill Nighy, from Underworld (2003) and Shaun of the Dead (2004), was the perfect choice for Davy Jones. He's such an oddball, that his facial twitches, odd speech, and wonderful acting fit right in with the character. Johnny Depp et al. did a wonderful job again, although I doubt Depp will get an Oscar nomination the second time around, just because it didn't work out the first time. Too bad really.

SPOILERS...so what's up with Barbossa? I thought he was shot in the heart by Jack at the end of the first film. I guess there's so much supernatural stuff in these movies that it could really be caused by anything. Should make for an interesting third movie though. We'll be looking forward to it.