Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest

Overview

Tons of spoilers, so you've been warned.

Come one, come all, to see the theatrical recreation of the Ghost Pirate Lechuck. T and I went to a midnight showing of Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest last night. It had everything you would have expected.

First, let me complain about the theatre. Because of the crowd they were trickling people in the theatre few by few and trying to force assigned seating onto us. I wasn't happy with that. T and I ended up with horrible seats, way too close to the screen. Someone told us they had multiple midnight showings; which would make sense. However, if we had known that before-hand, we would have held out to be the first in "Theatre 2" when it opened.

As you would expect, the movie was full of piratey goodness. Captain Jack Sparrow along with most of your favorites (and some of the easily forgotten) actors from the first film. There was a lot of action, and a lot of humor. Unfortunately, they replaced the "sneaky sly Captain Jack who can talk his way out of anything" with a "I'm a cartoon character and am indestructable even when a bomb explodes in my pants or an anvil falls on my head". It's not that I wasn't laughing through the first half of the movie, mind you. It's just that I prefer the sly talker to the comic violence.

The Ghost Pirate LeChuck makes an appearance, playing the 'pirate beast' Dave Jones. He has squid for a beard. Or maybe he is a squid. The story was unclear on his origins and mythology. There was something about him not being able to get onto land more than every 10 years. And something about a lost love. Perhaps they'll explain more in the third installment. This one leaves you satisfied, but is still a cliff hanger

Following the monkey island theme, the Voodoo Lady also made an appearance. She was living in her Monkey Island 3 house. They alluded to the fact that she had some relation to Davy Jones (perhaps his lost love?).

To add a bit of plot in here, Davy Jones wants Captain Jack Sparrow's soul. We aren't sure why. Jack tries to spend time on land to avoid Davy Jones. He convinces Will Turner (Legolas) to go onto Davy Jones' [cursed] ship to search for a key that will open the Dead Man's Chest which contains Davy Jones' heart.

There is also an East Indian Trading Company that is causing havoc, and wants Jack's compass (remember the compass that didn't point north?). What they really want is the Dead Man's Chest, with Davy Jones' heart, so they can control the sea.

If you get the chance to watch the first movie before seeing the second, I strongly recommend it.

I'm sure you'll want to re-watch the second movie before seeing the third. I know I will.

Update: The day after i wrote this, the Voodoo lady entry on Wikipedia was edited to compare the Voodoo Lady with Tia Dalma (The 'Voodoo Lady' from Pirates 2). A Wikipedia entry on Tia Dalma also went up. I find it doubtful that this review sparked the Wikipedia changes, but remember you heard it hear first.