Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

“Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!” Once again it is time for some piratey goodness. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest finds us in the world of Captain Jack Sparrow and his wacky adventures yet again. We are wrangled into a setting of pirates and propriety that are always fighting each other for prominence.
The movie opens as a bride is sitting in the rain (it actually kind of reminded me of some of the Guns N’ Roses: “November Rain” video.) As the camera focuses, we see that it is Elizabeth who's the wet bride. One can only assume that she was waiting to marry Will Turner, whom she chose at the end of the first movie. However, the audience is soon set right that no marriage can happen. Both Elizabeth and Will are in grave danger from having helped Captain Jack Sparrow and must find some way to avoid the noose. A shrewd businessman comes to Port Royal to make a deal for their freedom. Will must retrieve a certain item of Jack’s if he is to live until his wedding night. He sets off on this adventure to save his love and himself. Elizabeth however, not one to sit around and wait for her man, takes matters into her own hands.
Jack in the meantime has once again escaped from a prison and is back sailing on the Black Pearl. His bliss is short-lived, however, as he is soon reminded of a debt he owes to Davy Jones, the legendary pirate who rules over an army of enslaved sailors. When I first heard this name in the movie I expected the old Monkee to come out and start singing, however, I was sorely mistaken ;). An old friend shows up on the Black Pearl to remind him of his debt. That friend's name is William Turner. Yes, boys and girls, William Turner Sr., the dashing Will Turner Jr.’s father. Jack tries several ways to get out of repaying his debt, including offering Will Jr. as a replacement. Young Will tries to find a way to destroy Davy Jones, if he can just find his vulnerable point. Elizabeth is not far behind and rushes along with Jack to save Will. For anyone who has seen the first movie, the dashing Commodore Norrington does appear in this installment, but in somewhat of a different form.
OK. First of all, I have to say how excited I was that this movie was coming out. I had seen The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand, both with entertaining results, but felt a mourning for my summer that would go by without any more big blockbusters. In come my heroes, Johnny and Orlando, to save the day. As I anxiously awaited this movie’s premiere, I read some reviews written by the people who were lucky enough to see it early, which left me rather bummed. None of the reviews were good. “Oh, no!” I thought, “I didn’t think my boys would let me down!” Then D-Day came (Debut Day). I braced myself for what I was about to see, and two hours and 45 minutes later I was walking out of the theater with my group of friends.
During that walk so many things were bouncing around in my head. “That was so entertaining!” My brain was yelling at all the critics who had bashed the movie. What did they expect? A moving piece of cinema that rocks the very foundation of our society? Or maybe they were hoping for something showing that the world may have gone off kilter but it would right itself soon enough. Ok, what about the concept of a PIRATE movie did these people not understand? I didn’t go to this movie to be challenged, I came to be entertained. Pirates achieved that goal in stellar form. It was not about this movie meeting me where I was in my life, it was about pirates (although not as cool as ninjas) still being really cool and able to entertain, love, betray, and pilfer without too much alienation. I do not know what these critics were expecting, but I think they might be spending too much time at the movies (yes, there is such a thing) and not enough time on their personal lives. This could be causing them to try to have movies double as fulfillment in their lives and also their livelihood. You’re bound to be dissatisfied when you’re trying to live vicariously through movies.
The movie has amazing special effects. One thing I would really like to congratulate the movie on was the ability to use jokes from the first movie, but not to a point of exhaustion. Otherwise, I do not know what else to say about this other than, “It's entertaining.” Some movies are made to change our lives. Others are made to show what we need to change. However, some are made to remove us from reality for a bit of relaxation. The night that I saw this movie, I was definitely in need of the latter. I don’t care what the critics say. I liked it!
I ran through several different ratings in my head trying to figure out what would be the right one for this movie. I came up with a set of requirements that the movie had to meet, and I would rate it accordingly to how it met my expectations: 1) Was it worth the money I spent to see this movie? Definitely. Therefore, the movie already starts at a ten, since that’s the amount that I spent. 2) Did I have any need to hurt the directors or producers of this movie? (note: I have sometimes felt like that when I have seen a sequel that they totally ruined) No. That brings the movie to a 12. 3) How much did I enjoy this movie? Very much; I didn’t go to see something deep, I went to see some pirates. Good job, movie! Way to stick it to the man! My enjoyment of the movie bumped it up another 4 points. Bringing the total to 16. No matter what, I suggest that you go and see the movie for yourself and see if you enjoy it or if it reminds you of really bad eggs.