Sequel offers audiences a couple of hours of waterlogged fun
CAIRO: For many centuries people have been fascinated by fictional adventure tales about legendary pirates like Sinbad and Long John Silver. In 2003, someone brilliant at Disney decided to make their most popular ride, Pirates of the Caribbean into a film of the same title.
Director Gore Verbinski and a wonderful all-star cast pulled off a new mystical experience in the first flick, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Johnny Depp, playing the off-color pirate Jack Sparrow, was the fuel that truly drove the film to success.
After the immense success of this film, raking in millions, producers decided not to stop there and continue to milk this cash cow. They created two sequels, filming both at once, developing a sort of action adventure mini-series.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (part two) was released this summer, and, as expected, boomed at the box office.
Sequels are often considered “not as good as the original. But if you enjoyed the first one, you will probably enjoy the second, as the new adventure offers more of the same. This time Captain Jack owes an unpaid debt to Davy Jones, who is a scary,very ugly squid-faced captain. The payment is to be his soul.
The story unwinds as Sparrow tries to find a way to escape his obligation, and meanwhile searches the seas for an old chest.
Depp again plays the Keith Richards-like character very eloquently. He runs and jumps around like a cartoon character with his dreadlocks flying about, and thick mascara and kohl adding drama to his already expressive acting ; a performance that is very funny at times.
Orlando Bloom and Keria Nightly are also back in the sequel, their characters still as banal as in the first part. But they do add some eye-candy to the film. The love story between them continues and gets a little interesting when some sexual tensions crop up between Nightly’s character and the captain.
The film has lots of twists and turns. Although it has lots of prolonged scenes, it is generally packed with action and suspense.
The bad news is that this 180-minute film is only a teaser for the third sequel as it draws to a close leaving many loose ends untied. Still it is mostly fun, and definitely worth seeing as long as you’re not expecting a deep, moving story and simply want to be pleasantly entertained.
The film is to be released in cinemas across Egypt next Wednesday. Check our cinema listings for more details.
