Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest
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By Todd Karella
July 7, 2006
Original Story Synopsis:
Movie-Pix Best Guess:
Captain Jack Sparrow has managed to get himself into trouble once again.

He owes Davey Jones a blood debt, which he must somehow repay the debt or find his immortal soul damned in the after life.

But he's going to need help in order to save his soul and decides to request help from Will and Elizabeth, who have their wedding plans interrupted.
Another highly anticipated film of 2006.  And it had better be good since they are filming the third film in the series at the same time.

It should be another fun adventure for the trio and worth spending your hard-earned money on.

With the cast of Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley it can't go too far wrong.
Rated PG-13
~Taking the World by Storm~
Movie-Pix Hit or Miss
Best Guess Results:
Not quite as satisfying as the orignal.  The film had just a little too much slapstick humor in it, and bordered on being laughed at versus laughed with.

The characters were enjoyable and the film was a fun adventure for everyone.
  Even though the original film was a surprise hit, nobody in Hollywood predicted that the sequel was going to break box office records. Not only did it surpass the old record for an opening day, but it shattered the record for an opening weekend as well.
   But the question that needs to be asked, is what was the reason for its success. Was it because it was truly a great film? No.  Was it because everyone liked the characters? No. Did it have anything to do with its marketing or because it was geared towards several 
demographics? No.
   Well….I’m sure some of those things helped, but it had more to do with the quality of films this year. People enjoy the movie-going experience, but there haven’t been any truly great films out there and the audiences are starving for something good.
   So yes, the film was good.  It was fun. It was enjoyable.  But it wasn’t great. Instead of staying true to the original, the film decided to take the film to an almost cartoonish level. Thankfully, the characters were so enjoyable that you could forgive some of the impossible action and laugh with it instead of at it.
  Once again we find Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in a supernatural dilemma. He hasn’t stolen any gold this time, but we find out that he has sold his soul to Davey Jones (Bill Nighy) in order to have his ship, The Black Pearl, salvaged from the bottom of the ocean. As everyone knows, it’s a bad idea to sell your soul, because at some point you have to pay the price. For Jack Sparrow, the time to pay is now and Jones has come to collect.
  While Jack is doing his best to avoid paying the ultimate price, (Will Turner) (Orlando Bloom) and his bride Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), find themselves caught in their own predicament. There’s a new
commander on the island, Cutler Becket (Tom Hollanfer), and he’s decided to make the couple pay for their misdeed of helping the pirate scoundrel to escape from the British.
   In order to keep from losing their heads, Will agrees to hunt down Jack and bring
back his compass. In order to assure his return Becket plans to keep Elizabeth in prison.
   When Will eventually catches up to the renegade pirate he finds more
than he bargained for, not only has Jack Sparrow traded the young man’s life to Davey Jones in order to buy more time, but his own father ends up being one of those enslaved on the undead ship.
   As Will toils on the ship, Elizabeth escapes from prison and begins her own journey to find Jack. There is some really good chemistry between the two characters as some form of strange love triangle between the three develops. Elizabeth seems to bring out the best in Jack, while he brings out the worst in her and poor Will is completely confused about the relationship.
  But Jack is a pirate and changing his nature is nearly impossible. While everyone else is trying to help him, he’s constantly selling them out and trying to find where Davey Jones’ heart is buried. Whoever has his heart can control the undead captain and his ship of ghostly pirates, and the only way to find the heart is by following the magical compass.
   When Davey Jones discovers Jack’s plan he immediately chases after the pirate and lets loose the Kraken, a giant squid to destroy the Black Pearl. You’d think two groups chasing after one treasure would be complicated enough, but Cutler Beckett has sent another spy after the compass as well.  The spy he chooses is Elizabeth’s disgraced ex-fiancé, Commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport).
  Already knowing that the original film has now been turned into a trilogy, it’s no surprise that the second film ends as a cliff hanger.  On one hand you know there’s going to be a final film released next year, but on the other hand, any time a film doesn’t have a complete ending
it always seems to leave a bad taste in your mouth and a feeling of anxiety as you must wait a resolution.
   With other big blockbuster films coming out next year like the previous box office record holder Spider-Man 3 as competition, don’t expect the next installment to break as many records.  Even so, it’s going to be a fun film worthy of attention.