FanUnity B(uzz)log

“Pirates 2″ isn’t as fun a ride as the original, but it’s still a heck of a lot better than you would expect from a movie based on a theme park ride. Like the original “Pirates”, the action is fantastical and laced with humor. Perhaps its this sense of un-reality that also robs the drama of some punch, however.

“Dead Man’s Chest” finds Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in a terrible predicament. A power-hungry English lord who hates Captain Jack Sparrow enprisons Will and Elizabeth for aiding and abetting someone wanted for crimes against the British crown. The Lord, who is a stakeholder in the East India Trading Company, offers Will a deal: Find Jack Sparrow and bring his mysterious compass back, and he will free Will and Elizabeth. Just as Will sets out to find Jack, Jack learns some bad news of his own. Thirteen years ago Jack made a deal with the sinister sea devil Davy Jones to save him and his ship from death. Now time is up and Davy is coming to add Jack’s soul to the deformed crew of sorry sea men eternally enslaved to him.

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, along with some very good supporting actors, carry the film along. Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow is an icon movie figure, a lovable amoral rogue who looks dangerous at first glance but then seems harmless with more exposure. Bloom does a nice job as the straight character in the series, his job as the noble Will Turner is to always be serious and drive the plot forward, whereas Depp gets to play around and ham it up. For me though, the real star of the “Pirates” series is Keira Knightley. In the hands of most actresses, Elizabeth Swann would be a more passive and far less effective character. Knightley infused a sense of power and sass in Swann that allowed the creators of the film to push that envelope even further in the sequel. Only Angelina Jolie could create as interesting an Elizabeth Swann as Knightley has. Can you imagine Elizabeth Swann in the hands of Natalie Portman, for example? Lindsay Lohan? Anne Hathaway? Kate Hudson? Boring. Knightley’s ability to infuse action and sex appeal elevate the film.

Since the characters are constantly defying death in humorous ways, when the movie really wants us to believe there is serious danger, its hard to take stock in the notion that anyone could be harmed. This flaw is deeper in “Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” than it was in our first introduction to Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, since we’ve been expose to more of their adventures. When the movie ends on a cliffhanger, its hard to buy into the fact that any real danger is afoot. Yet I’ll certainly watch “Pirates 3″, because the movies are fun and entertaining.

3.5/5 Stars.