Depp is on his own in ‘Pirates’

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, July 6, 2006

Capt. Jack Sparrow might just be the first great movie character of the 21st century, and he gets an introduction worthy of his stature near the beginning of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

Sparrow was created by Johnny Depp in the 2003 hit “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” (Yes, some screenwriters were technically responsible for creating the role, but everything memorable about Cap’n Jack was clearly an act of pure inspiration on Depp’s part.) Bedecked in feathers and beads, mincing around in a haze of rum, Depp gave hilarity to a Disney theme park movie.

Audiences were rightly enchanted, so here come the sequels (by the way, this movie will be nonsensical for anyone who didn’t see the first film). “Dead Man’s Chest” opens soon after the events of the first movie, with young lovers Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) foiled in their marriage plans when Will is forced to find Sparrow and retrieve a valuable prize.

But Jack has his hands full. (No, I won’t give away his introduction here.) Having sold his soul to the devilish Davy Jones, he finds his bill now due. He’ll be spending eternity wandering around the deep, unless he can think of an escape clause.

The minions of Davy Jones are this movie’s most ingenious creations: an army of barnacle-encrusted, kelp-dripping ghosts, some of whom have partly mutated into fish or crustacean. Davy Jones himself, played by Bill Nighy, appears to have an octopus where his head used to be (its tentacles constantly writhing, this is truly a triumph of special effects and make-up).

The script is not so much a simple plot as a series of wild escapes. One terrific set-piece comes early on, as Jack is acclaimed a god amongst some native tribesmen, which unfortunately means he will be eaten by them. This evolves into a crazy Road Runner vs. Coyote chase with Jack trussed up on a roasting spit and his crewman inside a rolling cage made of human bones. It’s a riot. Director Gore Verbinski, returning to his duties from the first film, is once again happiest when sticking to the cartooniest elements.

A couple of things make the sequel less enchanting than the original “Pirates.” The first is sheer repetition – the film wears out its welcome before it reaches the end of its 140 minutes. (Kids loved the first movie, but this one is again pretty spooky-scary for small children – note the PG-13 rating.)

And there’s both too much and too little of Johnny Depp. Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio haven’t quite found enough of a through-line for Cap’n Jack, so Depp is really on his own (and having Sparrow as a credible romantic rival for the fair Elizabeth doesn’t ring true, because the character is so daft).

The “too much” is Depp trying to fill in the spaces. At this point, he’s like a Broadway diva who steps on stage and can do whatever outrageous things she pleases, knowing the first-night audience will lap it up. Depp tries so hard that the original enchantment isn’t there – but he’s so clever that a lot of it works.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed “Dead Man’s Chest,” at least until I began looking at my watch. And there’s a decent cliffhanger ending, which bodes well for Part 3, already deep into filming. Can’t wait to see Keith Richards as Cap’n Jack’s father, if he lives that long.

Johnny Depp stars in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”