Johnny, Keira, and Orlando are back to redeem their roles as Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner in the sequel to 2003’s hit blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Just before Will and Elizabeth are to get married, they are put behind bars for helping a certain pirate, Jack. Will must find Jack and bring back Jack’s compass in order to free Elizabeth. When Will finds Jack, Jack has been crowned the god on an island of cannibals. Too bad the cannibals have made a habit of eating their gods.

With the help of Will and Jack’s crew, Jack manages to escape his fate. Meanwhile, back at Port Royal, Governor Swan sets Elizabeth free and Elizabeth sets out to find Will and Jack. Jack agrees to give Will his compass, under one condition. Jack learns he owes a blood debt to the legendary Davey Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchmen. With time running out, Jack sets out to find the key to the chest of Davey Jones, which contains the key to killing Davey Jones. Elizabeth and Will are forced to join Jack once again in one of his misadventures.

I definitely enjoyed Curse of the Black Pearl much more. While this movie is certainly not terrible, it hardly stands up to Curse of the Black Pearl. I found the ending very upsetting. I saw the midnight showing and am still very upset. Not giving away anything. Johnny Depp is as good as ever returning to his favorite character. Keira also plays the feisty Elizabeth with perfection, coming back much more mature.

Dead Man’s Chest brings a much more humorous side to Jack Sparrow. He’s always been funny, but trust me, this time is better. The score is exactly the same as the first movie. That’s not a bad thing, though. I like the score.

To sum things up, Dead Man’s Chest is an OK movie. But in no way it lives up to the first. Be prepared to cry.

Review #2 by Kat

In a nutshell: Dead Man's Chest is a good film being compared constantly to a great film. Sequels rarely outdo the original and Dead Man's Chest has not achieved that success. The film is entertaining and fast paced and best of all it is filled with moments that make the entire movie theatre burst out laughing. The Carribean scenery is stunning (the water is so blue you just long to dive in) and Johnny Depp is as brilliant as ever as the loveable Jack Sparrow.

Welcome additions to the story include Will's father Bootstrap Bill who is now a member of Davey Jones crew. Bill is played by Swedish born actor Stellan Skarsgård who puts in a good performance. Commadore Norrington is back after suffering the end of his career (and as he insists: his life) for helping Jack. Then of course many of our favorite pirates are returning (including that rascaly undead monkey).

The film does have it's floors, however. While being value for money the two and a half hour run time doesn't quite work. There film doesn't have the same smooth flow the first film had and seems a little disjointed at points. There were many scenes that could have been edited out to make the film make more sense. Jack's escape from the island of Cannibals at the beginning of the film is pure genius and the best part of the film but all the same it wasn't necessary to the plot and could have been abbreviated.

I'm not a fan of Orlando Bloom's 'acting abilities' and will probably never rave about any of his performances, his part in Dead Man's Chest is no better or worse then in Pirates of the Carribean. As much as I love her Keira Knightley's performance wasn't up to previous standards, a lot of this was down to poor writing and developement of her character. There is a scene in the film when she throws a tantrum after getting sick and tired of wretched Pirates, while being funny the scene end up going too far and ends up portraying Elizabeth in a poor light and proving irritating to the audience.

The ending is inconclusive and 'To be Continued' in Worlds End which won't open till next year which is frustrating, however, it is full of surprises and has you very much anticipating the next film.

Overall, while not as good as the original Dead Man's Chest is definitely an entertaining film that is worth seeing!

PS: Stay after the credits, there's a bonus scene.

Review #3 by Natalie

As everyone has already filled in the plot for Dead Man’s Chest, I think I needn’t do so. Which is why, I will just put more of what I thought about the movie in this review.

I am a HUGE fan of Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley’s, so, needless to say, I simply HAD to go and watch this film. I think it lived up to most people’s expectations, but even so, it wasn’t nearly as fresh and lively as Curse of the Black Pearl. But don’t get me wrong, the movie was VERY entertaining, and it was worth the money. Two and a half hours just flew by like that, and there was not one bit that was boring. I mean, when it came to the end, I was like, “So fast?”

I loved a lot of the plotline, especially the twists. The one thing that the Pirates movies never fail to do is seamlessly weave in rather interesting twists, (hint romance), which left me simply intrigued. Still, after the movie, I felt that there was a lot of the movie that could be cut out as it was not very essential to the crucial plotline.

Moving on to the acting. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the unforgettable Captain Jack Sparrow was pure genius, as always. (See Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc. etc.)

Although I simply adore Keira Knightley, her performance in Dead Man’s Chest was not as good as in the first movie, and definitely did not surpass her Academy Award Nominated role as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice. This was mostly affected by the scene where she throws a tantrum when trying to get Jack, Will and Norrington to stop fighting and tries to use her old trick by pretending to faint, which only made me cringe. Still, Elizabeth Swann in this movie was much more mature, and Keira Knightley does it justice.

I can’t say much for Orlando Bloom though. He was still fine in his role as Will Turner, but there was nothing much to shout about.

The special effects, sets, make-up, direction, costumes etc. etc. was simply spectacular spectacular. I really take my hat off to the people who were in charge of all this. Gore Verbinski is truly a wonderful director.

Composer Hans Zimmer is back with the soundtrack, and while the main theme hasn’t changed, the new sounds of the movie were very enchanting.

A word of caution to all though: make sure you go to Wikipedia or somewhere to read the full plotline, (as it is rather patchy) or you will be left scratching your head and wondering what just happened. But this is not necessary if you are smart enough and can put two and two together.

Do stay tuned after the credits for the Easter Egg (bonus scene). This Easter Egg is not as captivating as the first movie’s, but it is still worth a laugh.

All in all, I simply can’t wait for At World’s End to come out, and Dead Man’s Chest is definitely a movie you don’t want to miss this summer!

Review #4 by Amy

I thought it was good but not as great as I was expecting it to be. It was too long, as it was really slow to get in to and some parts at the beginning were kind of boring. The acting and effects were really good and Johnny Depp was funny as usual, but over all I think the first movie was a lot better.

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