Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) by Katie B — 13 May 2017

This is a great follow-up that is just as entertaining as its predecessor.

When Dead Man's Chest begins, we see Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) being sentenced to death by the evil Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander) because of their associations with the notorious Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Fortunately, the two get one last chance. If Will can find Jack and bring back his compass to Beckett, both he and Elizabeth will be freed. This leads to Will finding Jack who has become a chief on an island inhabited by cannibals. After escaping, Will realises Jack needs his compass to search for the key that will open Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy) chest, which contains his heart, so he can free himself of the debt he owes Davy.

Depp brings comic relief to his role of Jack and makes the character his own. We see his determination to save his own skin from being sent to Davy Jones' Locker. However, other characters want their heart for their own personal reasons including Will who wants to save his father, who is a member of the crew on the Flying Dutchman.

Newcomers include Nighy as the evil Davy Jones. Thanks to computer-generated imagery, Nighy is almost recongisable and makes Jones a truly evil and intimidating character. Another stand-out supporting performance is Naomi Harris as the voodoo priestess, Tia Dalma. Her make-up is really impressive here. Harris is best known for her roles in the James Bond films, 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre' as Miss Moneypenny and, most recently, she gave an Academy-Award nominated performance in the Best Motion Picture of the Year, 'Moonlight'. However, her role as Tia Dalma is probably one of her best.

Of course, in a film that features pirates, you can expect a lot of swashbuckling action and director Gore Verbinski doesn't disappoint as there's even a sword fight that takes place on top of a huge wheel which proves that Dead Man's Chest is just as adventurous as its predecessor.