New "Pirates" movie aims for box office treasure

Keira Knightley (L) poses for photographs with co-star Orlando Bloom as they arrive for the European premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at Leicester Square, central London, July 3, 2006. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Three years ago, $654 million smash hit movie "Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" handed its Hollywood makers a devil of a dilemma: How the heck to top it?

To meet the challenge, director Gore Verbinski and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio fought fire with fire. For sequel "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," they fought their devil of a dilemma with the devil of the sea -- Davy Jones.

Action-adventure film "Dead Man's Chest," starring Johnny Depp as swishy pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, sails into U.S. movie theaters on Friday as perhaps the most widely anticipated movie of Hollywood's lucrative summer season.

On its face, that should be good news for the movie backed by The Walt Disney Co, but any Hollywood executive worth his sea salt knows that high expectations can lead to huge disappointment if movies fail to meet expectations.

Verbinski, Depp and the others have their work cut out for them. "We always said with the first movie, our chief weapons were low expectations and the element of surprise," Elliott told reporters. "In this, we don't have the low expectations."

Indeed, audience hopes are high. At Movietickets.com, for instance, advance ticket sales for "Dead Man's Chest" were nearly 20 times greater than those for the first film.

When "Curse of the Black Pearl" sailed into theaters in summer 2003, no one knew what to expect. Hopeful audiences thought it might be a raucous seafaring adventure, and skeptics pegged it as a kiddie movie based on a Disneyland ride.

Instead, what everyone got was a comedic pirate captain that Depp has said was a cross between Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards and lovesick cartoon skunk Pepe LePew.

DEVIL OF THE DEEP SEA

Audiences fell for Capt. Jack hook, line and sinker. Oscar voters nominated Depp for an Academy Award, and a film franchise was born. There will be one more "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie after this. Disney is said to have spent $450 million making No. 2 and No. 3 at roughly the same time.

"On the one hand, there are these tremendous expectations and on the other hand, you have to approach each film like it's your last," said Verbinski, saying this meant taking risks.

All the main characters are back for "Dead Man's Chest," including good Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and his lady love Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). But their tale is as much a ghost story under the sea as it is nautical adventure on top, and the special effects are supercharged.

Sailors say that when a seafaring ne'er-do-well drowns in the ocean, he or she is sent to "Davy Jones' Locker." Davy is a devil of the deep.

Audiences learn early in "Dead Man's Chest" that Capt. Jack traded his soul 13 years ago to become a pirate captain. His time is now up, and Davy wants him drowned.

But Capt. Jack has a plan to live. He has a compass that leads to a chest in which lies Davy's beating heart. If he gets his hands on the heart, he wins back his life.

Problem is, Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company wants Davy's heart too. He arrests Will and Elizabeth on the eve of their wedding and tells Will he might spare Elizabeth's life if the young man leads him to Capt. Jack.

Thus begins a journey across a Caribbean inhabited by pirates, wenches, cannibals, voodoo worshipers, a boatload of ghosts and a digital sea monster called the Kracken.

SWISHY SWASHBUCKLER

Depp's offbeat pirate stole the show in "Black Pearl," but the movie's makers did not want Capt. Jack to overshadow the adventurous tale in "Dead Man's Chest." "All around agreed that it shouldn't be the Capt. Jack show," Depp said.

Make no mistake, the actor known for quirky roles in films like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," is still the star of "Dead Man's Chest" and his swishy swashbuckling remains.

Depp said he easily slipped back into the role. "It felt to me like we'd had about a week break ... And you just sort of found it right away and you were there," he said.

But new elements include Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman, which cruises not on top of, but underneath, the sea like a submarine with sails.

Many in its crew assume the forms of fish. Davy's face features the tentacles of an octopus, and his key lieutenant is a hammerhead shark.

But will the story and Hollywood effects magic meet the expectations of an audience that is obviously hungry for more "Pirates of the Caribbean?" On Friday, fans will know.

"There is a lot of pressure," deadpanned Verbinski.