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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Blu-ray Review |
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Blu-ray
Disney / Buena Vista | 2006 | 150 mins | Rated PG-13 | May 22, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Blu-ray ReviewDisney issues another BD-50 gem that excites the eyes and ears, but loses cohesion in the pirates saga.Reviewed by Greg Maltz, July 30, 2007 The first installment of Pirates of the Caribbean introduced lively characters and a compelling plot that wove together pirate treasure, a curse, and a love story. Dead Man's Chest introduces additional characters: the ghost of Will Turner, a West Indian fortune-teller, a moneygrubbing British autocrat and the tentacled Davy Jones. The new castmembers aren't particularly strong. They offer complications and dilute the charisma of the established cast. As these characters integrate into the sequel, the plot becomes increasingly convoluted until we find ourselves walking the plank over a contrived storyline. But forget about plot and character development and feast your eyes on the tropical paridises, oceanscapes, and CGI marvels of Dead Man's Chest. The pristine 1080P MPEG-4 AVC codec showcases reference-quality resolution, similar to Curse of the Black Pearl. Walt Disney Pictures is to be commended yet again for delivering clarity and attention to detail in what seems to be every frame. That goes not just for Dead Man's Chest, but for several of the films Disney has released on Blu-ray disc thus far.
Dead Man's Chest does not develop the original cast in a way that seemed true to their characters. That's ok for an action/adventure sequel. But it's not ok to abandon much of the charm of the first film, which lay in Captain Jack Sparrow's quirky yet confident persona in a standout performance by Johnny Depp. Captain Jack's persona appealed to audiences all the more in Curse of the Black Pearl because Depp played a counterpoint to Geoofrey Rush as the more evil pirate, Captain Barbosa. The idiosyncratic and unpredictable Jack Sparrow never wavered in his convictions or confidence. In Dead Man's Chest, we quickly learn that Jack is waivering and fears for his life. His confidence is shot. His fear breaks character and abandons everything we previously learned about Jack Sparrow. Gone is the fearlessness and confidence that made the quirky pirate an overnight sensation. Without the swagger and without the more evil pirate played by Rush, the film struggles to make Captain Jack's role work. Instead, Dead Man's Chest delivers a series of cinematic gimmicks like silly cliffhangers and cartoonish sequences that further erode and cheapen the characters. Ultimately, the plot relies on the promise of Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End for any chance to restore a cohesive story. Video  But forget about plot and character development and feast your eyes on the tropical paridises, oceanscapes, and CGI marvels of Dead Man's Chest. The pristine 1080P MPEG-4 AVC codec showcases reference-quality resolution, similar to Curse of the Black Pearl. Walt Disney Pictures is to be commended yet again for delivering clarity and attention to detail in what seems to be every frame. That goes not just for Dead Man's Chest, but for several of the films Disney has released on Blu-ray disc thus far. From the open seas to bayou waterways to marine lairs deep beneath the water's surface, the picture is delivered with depth and staggering realism. Even the special effects have a life of their own. Watch the tentacles that hang from the octopus-faced Davy Jones. The details of the organic movement are displayed as effortlessly as the frown and furrowed brow of Keira Knightley. Or the surprise, defeat and copious eyeshadow in Johnny Depp's visage as he learns he has the "black mark". This is a wonderful advantage of 1080P: to effortlessly communicate facial expressions and even the most subtle visual cues of the actors that are lost in lower resolution. Audio  The greatest achievement in this film may not be a CGI or 1080P visual at all. The audio is an absolute stunner--a system stretcher for any reference home theater. The deck or hull of a ship is a fantastic stage to feed the ears an assortment of sounds, from the lapping of water to the creaking of floorboards to the whisper of the wind and footsteps on the floorboards. Dead Man's Chest delivers. All the sonic cues are there, with disarming presence that make us feel like we are in the action, not sitting in our HT room. As with the BD of Pirates 1, Disney provides 5.1 channels of uncompressed PCM. At 24 bit and 48 kHz, the voices, music and sound effects are fully resolved in a way that goes beyond CD sound (16 bit, 44.1 kHz). The most awesome audio display in Dead Man's Chest is the attack of the kraken, a mysterious deep-sea creature resembling a giant squid. In sailor lore, the kraken is rumored to take entire ships down. Since only pieces of the creature are seen, Dead Man's Chest relies on audio to communicate the full terror of an attack. It is the brief symphony of sounds that communicates the presence and power of the kraken. Listen to the deep bass rumble crescendo to a mid-bass roar as the sound of splintering wood and human cries mix in the otherworldly crush of the ship's hull. The effects are mixed and mastered to perfection and at high volumes will shake your floorboards and rattle your windows, mateys. SupplementsAs with Disney packed a lot into this two-disc release. Disc 2 is loaded with more than 7 hours of bonus features in a 480i presentation. The supplements include games and activities, a movie showcase, a backstage special, features on Captain Jack and Davy Jones and a bloopers reel. Not many of us have that much time to spend checking out these extras, but true fans may find them as interesting as the movie. Just don't expect pristine audio and video quality. Final words  Curse of the Black Pearl's popularity with audiences of all ages meant that the producers had to try to duplicate that success with Dead Man's Chest. But they altered the balance of characters and plotlines that made the earlier movie accessible and tied it to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Where the first installment began with the discovery of a ransacked ship on the high seas, Dead Man's Chest starts with a cancelled wedding ceremony. Soon we find the characters making deals with the all-powerful British East India Trading Company, running from a tribe of cannibals, hobnobbing with a voodoo witch and engaging in strange antics. Disney opted for a more convoluted story and more cheap laughs. What do weddings have to do with pirates and buried treasure? For that matter, what do cannibal tribes have to do with it? Or any of the other tangents introduced in Dead Man's Chest? In spite of the effects nirvana offered by the kraken and the Davy Jones CGI, I found myself wishing Dead Man's Chest picked up right where Curse of the Black Pearl left off. Instead, the laughs came cheaper, the plot had less cohesion and the characters had less strength. Good thing the sights and sounds are on par with the most elite blu-ray releases because otherwise, I could not recommend this title. 
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