Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest [2-disc Special Edition]

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Well, gamers, Blu-ray technology is headed in your direction. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" includes a first-of-its-kind game that uses BD-Java technology and utilizes artificial intelligence in order to create an advanced and unpredictable round of "Liar's Dice." I have to confess, though, that I had a hard enough time understanding the game in the film, when Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) wagered Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) for his soul, so I'm not thinking I'll be winning any time soon.

Then again, there were a lot of confusing moments in this sequel to the popular "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Why was Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in some sort of Turkish prison at the outset, and how did he escape inside a coffin that was thrown to the sea? While it makes for a great reintroduction to the character and provides a strong comic-visual scene to have a bird land on the coffin and get blown away by a pistol shot from inside, it's never really explained what was going on in the first place. And then how does Jack end up on Cannibal Island as the chief, while his men are hung up inside great, round bone cages? And that sword-fighting scene we see later that has the principles fighting while atop and inside a great big rolling wheel?

The cynic in me suspects that producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski told their writers to come up with some high-concept scenes that would be just great for inspiring action-figure toys and giving the special effects people new challenges, and then figure out how to connect them with dialogue and plot. That's really how this sequel seems to me: a slightly haphazard collection of gimmicks that appeals to the kid in everyone, but doesn't have the same clear narrative thrust of the original. If you thought the first "Pirates" film was a little long and a tad convoluted at 143 minutes, add seven more minutes to the sequel and tell me how you feel.

That said, the characters established in the first film are as engaging as ever, and the visual effects were good enough to win an Oscar. My son actually prefers "Dead Man's Chest" to the first film, but when you're nine you're most impressed by the creatures. And in his humble opinion, the evolved fishy crew of the octopus-faced Davy Jones was much cooler than Barbossa's skeleton crew. Then there's that giant squid-like Kraken that's sent by Jones to claim a debt owed by Capt. Sparrow. Apparently, Jack struck a bargain with the legendary undead lord of the depths. If Jones would raise the sunken Black Pearl and allow Jack to captain it for 13 years, then Jack would agree to join Jones' barnacle-encrusted crew of the Flying Dutchman. And now his time was up. That seems to be the theme in "Dead Man's Chest," which begins with the arrest of Will and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) for aiding and abetting a pirate. There's also a warrant for Norrington, the British officer who decided to let Jack have a day's head start, so they're all living on borrowed time, really.

It was Aztec gold that drove the first "Pirates" film, and here it's a key--or rather, a drawing of a key--then the key itself, and Jack's apparently dysfunctional compass that only points in the direction of what that person desires most. In Sparrow's case, it's the Dead Man's Chest, which houses something he hopes to use to barter for his life. Complicating matters is that Norrington (Jack Davenport) is also a fugitive, while his replacement in port (Tom Hollander) is plotting to get a hold of Jack's compass so that the East India Company can rule the seas. All of which seems like the gloppy glue that holds together those memorable, high-concept scenes.

As with the first "Pirates," it's still a lot of fun, and for that we have to thank mostly the visual and special effects people and the performers. If the first film showcased Depp, this time around the other characters get more of the spotlight, and the visual effects are really stunning. Some of the Flying Dutchman crew are a bit too "Star Wars" over-the-top for my taste, with all their sea creature transformations and barnacle/coral encrustations, but you have to marvel at how real Davy Jones looks.

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