20 Underappreciated Blockbusters That Are Much Better Than You Remember
1. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest/At World's End
The two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels are being included as a single entry here because they were shot back-to-back and combine to tell a full story. Even a decade later, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End aren't particularly well-regarded but deserve to be labelled as severely underappreciated blockbusters.
Why, you may ask? They may be overlong, stupidly expensive, unnecessarily complicated and far too ambitious in their attempts to craft a massive mythology but think about it; these are mega-budget sequels released by family-friendly Disney and they are both hugely enjoyable and Really. F*cking. Weird.
The Brethren Court, a trip to the Orient, the Pirate King, Keith Richards, hearts being kept in wooden chests/stolen/cut out, heathen gods, the afterlife, a manifestation of Jack Sparrow trying to f*ck a goat and opening the third movie with a mass hanging (including that of a small child) are just some of the crazy sh*t Gore Verbinski managed to sneak into his $500m family movies.
Besides the gonzo weirdness, the Pirates sequels feature one of the 21st Century's most memorable villains in Davy Jones, completed three-movie narrative arcs for the main characters and feature some absolutely jaw-dropping action sequences. Given the tepid nature of parts four and five, its about time that Dead Man's Chest and At World's End were reappraised.