Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

[DotTheEyes]

TRAILER: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/piratesofthecaribbeandeadmanschestqt.html

This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I thought the first movie was great in every way -- acting (Johnny Depp was incredible), cinematography, pacing, special effects, writing, etc. An old-fashioned adventure spectacular made with high-tech effects. This sequel seems even better and I'll definitely be seeing it opening day in theatres. Can't wait!

 

[Ernie]

TRAILER: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/piratesofthecaribbeandeadmanschestqt.html

This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I thought the first movie was great in every way -- acting (Johnny Depp was incredible), cinematography, pacing, special effects, writing, etc. An old-fashioned adventure spectacular made with high-tech effects. This sequel seems even better and I'll definitely be seeing it opening day in theatres. Can't wait!

I read the book and hate the way it ended. I am sure the third one will correct the way the 2nd ended.

 

[DotTheEyes]

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a strong movie, though not as good as the first. The main flaw is how it manages to be very convoluted without ever mustering much of a cohesive plot. The storytelling pot is just overflowing here as there are countless characters and every one of them has their own set of issues. The film jumps from sub-plot to sub-plot and a few of them are more intriuging than others, but never do they come together and form an overall story arc -- it's all separate stuff and a lot of it fails to satisfy. The film often feels as if it's wandering about in search of a powerful purpose. Another small flaw is the running time. A solid 20 minutes could've been cut without harming this two-and-a-half-hour project.

This is a major flaw, but it doesn't bring down the whole production. For one, it's been reported this is one of the most expensive movies ever made and every last penny is on the screen. The action is fast and furious (I was on the edge of my seat for most, if not all of it) and the production design and special effects are awe-inspiring. I was especially impressed by the computer-generated villian, Davy Jones, and his barnacle-covered gang of deformed pirate henchmen. They're incredible creations and represent a new height in the world of film effects. Also, Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley are feisty leads with energy to spare (Orlando Bloom is bland, per usual).

Overall, I enjoyed myself. Yes, I was disappointed the storyline was so convoluted and, at times, dull, but the incredible visuals and strong performances made up for it. The film's certainly a well-made summer rollercoaster ride and the massive amount of people who will see it over the next few days will, mostly, leave satisfied and excited for the third film, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End, which opens next Memorial Day. I recommend the movie.

And in terms of this year's summer extravaganzas, I would say it's better than The Da Vinci Code, Poseidon, and X-Men: The Last Stand, but worse than Mission: Impossible III and Superman Returns (the year's best movie so far, in my opinion).

 

[DotTheEyes]

Also, a warning to parents (seeing as this film's made by Disney and is expected to draw in plenty of children): this is much more grim and suspenseful than the first film. It's almost nonstop action and suspense and it doesn't have the lighthearted whimsy of the original. There was a six-year-old (maybe a tad younger or older) down the row from me when I saw it this morning in Annapolis and they began to cry and eventually had to leave they were so frightened. Of course, it all depends on the child. If they were fine with these films...

Batman Begins
Daredevil
The Mummy
Van Helsing
War Of The Worlds (Spielberg's version with Tom Cruise)

...they should be fine with this, but if they're sensitive to BOO! scares (sudden loud noises meant to jolt) or nightmarish monster visuals, they might not be to handle a lot of this film.

 

[Lilypad]

M-kay, but what about the kiss?

 

[DotTheEyes]

The one between Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, or Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom?

Alright, alright... I'm just kidding about the last one. Disney doesn't want a fight with those spooky Christian fundamentalists.

 

[kwillia]

Enjoyed the movie very much!

 

[DotTheEyes]

Wow, this opened to $55.5 million on Friday -- the biggest opening day of all-time (beating Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith's figure). It's also going to shatter Spider-Man's record for the biggest three-day opening once box office estimates come out later today. Who would've expected such MASSIVE success from a 21st century pirate film based on, of all things, an old-fashioned water ride. Disney certainly has a hot franchise on their hands with these Pirates movies (too bad they messed up The Haunted Mansion so bad -- turning a sinister, atmospheric ride into an overblown, schmaltzy Eddie Murphy family comedy! Ugh!).

I wish the wonderful Superman Returns (a far better movie, in my opinion) was seeing the same kind of success Pirates 2 is. The release of this movie completely crushed it. Hopefully people see Supes when/if Pirates sells out (especially over the crumby Click or Nacho Libre) or discover it after they're all YoHo-ed out.

 

[Ken King]

Wow, this opened to $55.5 million on Friday -- the biggest opening day of all-time (beating Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith's figure). It's also going to shatter Spider-Man's record for the biggest three-day opening once box office estimates come out later today. Who would've expected such MASSIVE success from a 21st century pirate film based on, of all things, an old-fashioned water ride. Disney certainly has a hot franchise on their hands with these Pirates movies (too bad they messed up The Haunted Mansion so bad -- turning a sinister, atmospheric ride into an overblown, schmaltzy Eddie Murphy family comedy! Ugh!).

I wish the wonderful Superman Returns (a far better movie, in my opinion) was seeing the same kind of success Pirates 2 is. The release of this movie completely crushed it. Hopefully people see Supes when/if Pirates sells out (especially over the crumby Click or Nacho Libre) or discover it after they're all YoHo-ed out.

How does this stack up against a movie like "Gone With the Wind" when adjusted for inflation? When it released ticket prices were probably a quarter or less, so do one day receipts mean all that much? Heck, even the first Starwars ticket prices were half of what they are today.

 

[FromTexas]

How does this stack up against a movie like "Gone With the Wind" when adjusted for inflation? When it released ticket prices were probably a quarter or less, so do one day receipts mean all that much? Heck, even the first Starwars ticket prices were half of what they are today.

http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/index.html#inflation_adjusted

 

[DotTheEyes]

Yes, if you adjust the numbers, many older films rise up on charts, whereas more recent ones slip down. But the numbers Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has done are still quite impressive. Drawing in $132 million's worth of people these days (when the box office is slumping and DVD business is rising) is incredible.

 

[Xbrand]

I saw the flick last night. I thought it was entertaining enough. I personally would not nominate it for any awards.

I was able to leave the movie not feeling that I was ripped off and in dire need to sue to get the 2 hours of my life back.

However, I will probably avoid Octopus Sushi for a while....

 

[kwillia]

I saw the flick last night. I thought it was entertaining enough. I personally would not nominate it for any awards.

I was able to leave the movie not feeling that I was ripped off and in dire need to sue to get the 2 hours of my life back.

However, I will probably avoid Octopus Sushi for a while....

Best review yet for this movie... summed it up perfectly...

 

[DotTheEyes]

Am I the only one who thought it was overlong? Silly slapstick adventure movies don't usually need to be two-and-a-half-hours long and this one definitely didn't.

 

[virgovictoria]

Wow, this opened to $55.5 million on Friday -- the biggest opening day of all-time (beating Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith's figure). It's also going to shatter Spider-Man's record for the biggest three-day opening once box office estimates come out later today. Who would've expected such MASSIVE success from a 21st century pirate film based on, of all things, an old-fashioned water ride. Disney certainly has a hot franchise on their hands with these Pirates movies (too bad they messed up The Haunted Mansion so bad -- turning a sinister, atmospheric ride into an overblown, schmaltzy Eddie Murphy family comedy! Ugh!).

I wish the wonderful Superman Returns (a far better movie, in my opinion) was seeing the same kind of success Pirates 2 is. The release of this movie completely crushed it. Hopefully people see Supes when/if Pirates sells out (especially over the crumby Click or Nacho Libre) or discover it after they're all YoHo-ed out.

IMHO, it's cause the dreamy Depp :swoon: plays leading man - in addition to it being such an adventuresome family movie. He's such a great actor that it has a greater draw than a no name (like the Supe movie)... It almost makes me want to go to the theater... and THAT says something...

 

[DotTheEyes]

It's definitely Depp which sets these movies apart from all the other big special effects movies, I agree. Without him, they wouldn't be doing nearly as well.

His name and the offbeat, yet endearing character he created, Captain Sparrow, have given these movies an edginess it would not've had if they'd cast, say, Matthew McConaughey or Brad Pitt in the lead role. There are other actors who could've done great in the role, such as Ewan McGregor or even Colin Farrell, but they're not quite as famous and adored as Johnny Depp.

It's funny Disney execs were p*ssed when they first saw dailies of Depp's performance from the first movie, assuming audiences would hate the craziness and the movie would get awful word-of-mouth because of it. Of course, these same execs also thought the mammoth success Finding Nemo would be Pixar's first failure. lol

 

[Xbrand]

I'm going to have to support you on the statement, "J.Depp made the movie what it is."

I honestly doubt that the other actors listed previously could have pulled it off. It just wouldn't be the same. Orlando Blooms role could be largely cast by any others and even the previously listed and the movie would have been exactly the same.

Though, for 2hours and some butt numbing extra minutes, it is a bit drawn out. And I do so hate it when they make you wait possibly another year and a half for the follow up.

 

[DotTheEyes]

I agree Orlando Bloom could've been replaced and, in fact, I wish he had been. I know teen girls go wild for him, but, damn, he is one bland actor! Not awful and untolerable, just bland, bland, bland.

I've seen The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, both Pirates Of The Caribbean films, Troy, Kingdom Of Heaven, and Elizabethtown and he's yet to impress me. He was the worst in Kingdom Of Heaven, Ridley Scott's Crusades epic. He played this noble, stoic knight with a conflicted soul and a world-weary attitude. It was a great, old-fashioned protagonist role and I bet many actors could've blown us away in it. He, however, just stood there with expressionless face (perhaps believing expressionless = attitude when it most definitely doesn't) and delivered these bold lines of heroic dialogue with the passion and fury of a log.

In regards to the Pirates franchise, I 100% believe if Disney had cast one of the actors I mentioned above (Ewan McGregor or Colin Farrell, for example) in the role of Will Turner, more people would pay attention to him instead of almost exclusively doting on the fantastic Johnny Depp's Captain Sparrow. Granted, most people would still leaving discussing the Keith Richards-inspired Sparrow, but I bet they would also remember Turner as more than the straightman to Sparrow, the crazy comic relief hero.

The rest of the cast is solid, especially Keira Knightley, who is a great young actress. She's solid as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates movies and was great in Domino and Pride & Prejudice.

***

As for the overlong nature of Dead Man's Chest, I felt it the most during the first act. It felt as if 75 minutes or so had elapsed before we first met Davy Jones and he's the film's main villian! The set-up was too long and too uneven (though I loved the comedy involving the cannibal tribe). Once the ball started rolling, it was a blast.

***

To those who saw Dead Man's Chest in theatres, did anyone else see the teaser trailer for Transformers? I'm not very familiar with the Transformers as their popularity was ending around the time I was born. This trailer, however, was quite good. I thought it was going to be an alien invasion movie, but then the giant robot showed up. Plus it's directed by Michael Bay, who is a great action director (his other credits include Armageddon, Bad Boys II, The Island, Pearl Harbor, and The Rock). Should be a good summer movie!

 

[SamSpade]

How does this stack up against a movie like "Gone With the Wind" when adjusted for inflation? When it released ticket prices were probably a quarter or less, so do one day receipts mean all that much? Heck, even the first Starwars ticket prices were half of what they are today.

When adjusted for inflation, total receipts puts GWTW way atop the list for all-time box office champ. Star Wars is a close second, with Titanic about sixth on the list.

I can find no data regarding box office opening weekend values for GWTW. Suffice it to say, it probably did NOT open to 3200 screens nationwide.

GWTW actually has one advantage the others did NOT have - no TV or competitive media. It made an enormous amount of money in its day - but it was in the theaters repeatedly for decades, and was a LONG time before it was shown on TV for the first time - compared to just a few years for Star Wars.

 

[DotTheEyes]

Yes, it's the competition factor which makes today's box office arena so much different than the one Gone With The Wind entered (in addition to drastically different ticket prices). GWTW, as you said, played for decades in some areas and in a lot of those areas (the majority of them) it was the only film playing.

It's just so different today. Look at May 2006: Mission: Impossible III came out, then was immediately faced by Poseidon, which was immediately faced by The Da Vinci Code, which was immediately faced by X-Men: The Last Stand, and then that faced The Break-Up and Cars in June. It's so incredibly hard nowadays to keep screens (since there is always new product rolling in) and audience interest. Really, only a few films in the last year or two have truly pulled it off. They include Brokeback Mountain, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, King Kong, Walk The Line, and Wedding Crashers. They did it mainly through critical acclaim and audience word-of-mouth, the most necessary ingredients for a long box office run. Most movies fall 50%+ in their second weekends and leave theatres fairly quickly.