Currently Listening Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest By Hans Zimmer see related

Thoughts on Dead Man's Chest

Lindsey and I just got back from the midnight showing of Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man's Chest. Let me just say do not go expecting to see a remake of the first film. Pirates 2 is very different. It has an entirely different feel. Whereas the first film was a high-seas adventure flick with a fantastical backstory, this film has more of a mythological feel as it incorporates the legend of The Flying Dutchman. (Yeah. I was sorely disappointed the musical score did not incorporate any Wagnarian themes ).

In addition, the storyline in the 2nd film is a lot weaker than that in the first one, and I never thought Pirates 1's storyline was extremely strong. This film just did not have a consistent flow to the storyline. The plot was choppy, and most times the exposition that made the characters' actions significant came too late. I only began to feel that the plot had progression during the last hour or so of the film.

This sequel also lacked in development of the characters. The characters did not have any "telling moments" until the last hour of the film. Even then, these moments only confirmed what we already knew about the characters from watching the first film. Before you knew it, the characters' choices deviated from what they would have done if placed in the same situation in the first film, and the motivating factors were way too small to produce such drastic changes in the characters.

I don't mean to discourage anyone from seeing the movie. If you were a big fan of Curse of the Black Pearl, chances are you will enjoy watching Dead Man's Chest. However, the film is not much aside from being a fan movie and a visual spectacular. There is no story of sacrifice or redemption in the film. Perhaps there will be such a storyline in the third film though.

On the other hand, I do think the film had an intriguing religious overtone. When one of the Flying Dutchman's crew members was explaining his reasoning for spending eternity on the ghostship, he said that he got what he wanted. This made me think of C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, in which Lewis suggests that people do not want to go to heaven because they themselves do not want heaven. They would rather do things their own way.

In conclusion, if you can wait until this film comes out on video, you may want to save some money and not see it at the theater. If, however, you are a diehard fan of the first film and want a diversion from your boring summer job, take some a friend or a family member to the film. Overall, I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

By the way, I am not listening to the soundtrack. I just wanted to list the picture on my blog. However, I do think the soundtrack will be better than the first one even though I have not heard it yet. There was some great music in this film.      

Dan's latest portrait.

Currently Listening Fly Away By Lenny Kravitz see related

Guys Can’t Multitask!
Reinforcement of What We Already Know

     While I was picking out flip-flops at Wal-Mart, my friend Chris called. I answered the phone and talked as Hannah and I walked up to the self-checkout counters. I scanned my flip-flops over the laser. Forgetting to select my method of payment, I inserted a dollar bill into the machine.

     “What’s Joel been up to?” asked Chris.

    I did not speak until after I grabbed my receipt. “Oh, I don’t know. Just school. He was supposed to go fishing Friday but it rained. He went backpacking last week.”
    
     Hannah and I crossed the parking lot and stopped at the red Toyota Previa. I flipped out my key and inserted it into the keyhole. I turned the key but could not hear the click of the locks. The lock’s bad, I thought. As I considered what was wrong, Chris became that muffled adult voice heard on Peanuts. “Waw waw waw wa waaaa.”

     I walked over to the passenger-side door and turned the key there. Still I heard no click. Maybe the key’s bent. Good thing I brought a spare today. I slung open my wallet and lifted the key from the main pocket. I placed the key in the lock and turned. Still no click!

     I resolved to try the lock on the driver’s side door again with this key, but I stopped behind the vehicle to try to unlock the trunk. The key wouldn’t budge. What is going on here? I looked at the ground in frustration. But my eyes saw bright colors on their way to the ground. What was that? A Kentucky license plate? This isn’t my van!!!