It is easily one of the most eagerily anticipated films of the summer. The sequel that everyone (Not just die-hard Disney fans) is just dying to see.
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And — up until now — the plot for this follow-up to “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” has been kept under lock & key. But today, we’re going to pull a Will Turner and stealthily snatch that key. Liberating this oddly shaped object from its usual hiding spot (Which is around Davy Jones’ neck) and then use that key to open “Dead Man’s Chest.”
As I said in both the headline and the sub header for this article, there be spoilers ahead. I’m about to reveal some (but not all) of the major plot points of this Gore Verbinski film. So if you don’t want to know a whole lot about this Walt Disney Pictures release before it arrives in theaters on July 7th, I suggest that you bail out of this story now.
Okay. Those of you who come ” … seekin’ adventure and salty old pirates” still with me? Then let’s start by talking about this movie’s sub-title: “Dead Man’s Chest.” Which refers to this chest …
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… Which was once owned by this man (if you can still call this creature a man), Davy Jones (played by Bill Nighy).
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Davy once had his heart broken so badly by a woman that he physically tore the organ right out of his own body. Jones then placed his broken-but-still-beating heart inside this chest & buried it on Isla Cruces. With the hope that this would eventually lessen his pain.
Mind you, the upside of this particular bit of black magic is that Davy Jones then basically became immortal. He now endlessly roams the Sevens Seas aboard the Flying Dutchman. Accompanied only by his deathless crew and the Kraken, this enormous squid-like beast that Jones treats like a pet. Which Davy also uses to pull other ships down to their doom.
Anyway … “Dead Man’s Chest” (the movie) has only just gotten underway when Captain Jack Sparrow is suddenly visited by the ghost of Will Turner’s father, Bootstrap Bill (played by Stellan Skarsgard).
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Bill reminds Jack of the oath that he once swore to Davy Jones. As in: “I owe you my soul.” Well, Davy intends to collect on that debt and soon. To reinforce that Captain Jones really means business here, as Captain Sparrow stares at his hand in horror …
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… The black spot magically appears in Jack’s palm, signalling that his days in the mortal realm are rapidly dwindling down. Meaning that Sparrow will soon be doomed to spend all eternity aboard the Flying Dutchman serving Davy Jones.
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Mind you, Captain Jack Sparrow isn’t one to take this sort of news lying down. Which is why he quickly seeks out Tia Dalma, a powerful witch doctor who lives in a tumbledown shack in a remote swamp.
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Tia (played by Naomie Harris) tells Jack that he can just find the Dead Man’s Chest (I.E. Where Davy has stashed his still-beating heart), then Captain Sparrow will then have leverage with Captain Jones. And perhaps Jack will then be able to persuade Davy to forget their earlier arrangement.
Mind you, Captain Jack Sparrow isn’t the only person in the Caribbean searching for the Dead Man’s Chest. The new military commander of Port Royal, Lord Cutler Beckett (played by Tom Hollander) also has his heart set on finding Davy Jones’ heart.
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For he who holds that chest is then virtually assured of safe passage on the Seven Seas. So — if Lord Beckett were to ever take possession of the Dead Man’s Chest … Well, that would quickly make Cutler one of the most powerful men in the British Empire.
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“But what became of the old military commander of Port Royal?,” you ask. Ah, yes. Commodore James Norrington (played by Jack Davenport). After the events of the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” film, Norrington became so obsessed with recapturing Captain Jack Sparrow that he endlessly pursued the Black Pearl. Eventually losing both his crew & command because the Commodore refused to give up his pursuit of Captain Jack Sparrow.
“So — in the end — where does Norrington end up?,” you query. In Tortuga as a drunken & broken man. Where — ironically enough — he’s eventually recruited to become the newest member of the crew of the Black Pearl.
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Now please remember that — at the start of this article — I promised to reveal some but not all of the major plot points from “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” But given the truly witty screenplay that Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio have crafted for this “Curse of the Black Pearl” sequel (Which almost organically builds on the jokes & the thrills of the first film), I really don’t want to give everything away here. Like why Jack winds up on Cannibal Island …
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… And — because he’s thought to be a god in human form — almost winds up on the menu there.
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What I will say is that “Dead Man’s Chest” has several action scenes that deliberately try & top the wittily staged swordfights of the first film. Take — for example — this swashbuckling battle between Captain Jack, Will Turner & Norrington. Which starts out on the rooftop on an old abandoned church on Isla Cruces.
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In this scene, each of these men is fiercely determined to lay claim to the Dead Man’s Chest. Will Turner because he’s hoping that it will then allow him to free his father from an after-lifetime of eternal servitude to Davy Jones. Commodore Norrington with the hopes that possessing the chest will help him regain his command. Jack … Well, we already know why Captain Sparrow needs the Dead Man’s Chest.
Anyway … As this epic sword fight builds & builds, Sparrow eventually slips away. And — as Captain Jack makes a hasty retreat through the church’s graveyard — Turner & Norrington are still crossing swords (Check out the upper right hand corner of the image capture below. You’ll that Will & the Commodore are still at it on the rooftop).
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Also — while you’re checking out the above photograph — be sure and note the waterwheel at the end of the building. You see, at some point in this sword fight, that waterwheel comes loose and — with Turner & Norrington still crossing swords on top of it — this waterwheel rolls right on through the jungle.
Which makes for one hell of an action sequence in the last half hour of the film.
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As for Captain Jack Sparrow … Well, he is able to finally find the Dead Man’s Chest. And — once he opens the chest — Jack does find Davy Jones’ still-beating heart inside.
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But what does Captain Jack now do with his hard-earned prize? Well, to reveal any more of “Dead Man’s Chest” ‘s secrets would really ruin one of the better films of the Summer of 2006. So let’s just say that — when you’re dealing with characters like Captain Jack Sparrow — it’s always wise to …
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So what do you think, folks? Does that bare-bones description of the film’s plot make you that much more eager to go see “Dead Man’s Chest”? Or are you now more likely to take a pass of this “Curse of the Black Pearl” sequel?
Your thoughts?