Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman’s Chest: To Please? or Not to Please?
Whether it’s the humorously witting dialogue by writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, the oddly captivating personality of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, or a combination of both, the truth is it workedâÂ?¦the first time around. At now over a record breaking $300 million at the box office Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest proves to be the greatest box office release in recent history. Though the soaring numbers solidify financial success for its creators, what’s to say about its overall success?
For fans, The Curse of the Black Pearl had a simplistic storyline that introduced favored Capt. Jack Sparrow whose stroke of good and bad fortune leads him on an adventure in the company of an unlikely shipmate, Will Turner. Turner, who’s out to rescue his love Elizabeth Swan, in turn unknowingly aids Sparrow in gaining his cherished ship, the Black Pearl, back from the mutinous pirate Barbosa.
Though unappreciated by movie critics and doubted by its creators, audiences world-wide were swept away by the Black Pearl and her rivaling male suitors; so much so that they were practically climbing over each other to get into the theaters for its second time around the seas. Sadly for fans running into the theaters to get a second dose of their unlikely hero Capt. Jack Sparrow, there was disappointment over the dismal changes the new film brought.
In The Curse of the Black Pearl the audience is given a bold, crafty Jack Sparrow who sometime shows a caring heart but never forgets he’s a pirate, (ie saving Elizabeth Swan from drowning), thus gaining him the audience. In the latest film, Jack Sparrow appears to have lost all sense of morality or concern for the wellbeing of anyone and is more comparable to the villainous Barbosa or Davy Jones characters.
Though the obvious favorite character in the Pirates’ series, the writers seem displeased with the audience’s attraction to Jack Sparrow and decide to make him more “slap-stick” or like a childish coward who’s more selfish, spoiled, and goofy than anything else. It appears as though the writers were simply devoid of creativity in the second film evident by predictable gimmicks recycled from the first film, (ie Elizabeth Swan fainting, chasing the dog with the keys and perpetual rum references).
As if gaining no laughs during scenes with such dry repetitiveness wasn’t enough, the writers more than doused the fire out of the highly anticipated sequel with illogical scenes such as Jack Sparrow becoming an instant chief of a tribe of natives, unnecessary characters like dark-spirited Lord Beckett and an overwhelmingly convoluted plot, (a failed attempt to please critics). Apparently the small three year gap between the two films was more than enough time for the creators of Dead Man’s Chest to lose sight of what brought audiences to them in the first place the thrill of watching their ironic hero, Jack Sparrow at his best.
