Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Originally Written

Friday, May 25, 2007

So far 2007 has been the year of huge blockbuster disappointments, and everyone is in gear not to expect much from the third entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, At World's End. Receiving even worse reviews from critics than the previous installation, Dead Man's Chest, it seems once again the Pirates series is a hit with the public and a miss with the critics, what a surprise. While I originally thought it was a huge mistake for the series to travel into Matrix territory with a two-part series of films, the final chapter in this two-part adventure is quite a bit more satisfying than I expected.

At World's End sees the Pirates series picking up where it left off, with Jack Sparrow now dead and Davy Jones's heart in the possession of Cutler Beckett. The last remaining pirates are now threatened with total annihilation and their only hope is a combining of forces and unleashing a force of nature that no one can contain... Calypso! To release Calypso from her human form nine pieces of eight must be joined together by the pirate leaders. Unfortunately for them Jack Sparrow is one of those holders of the nine pieces, leaving them with no choice but to travel to the lower depths of the earth and retrieve Sparrow from his hold within Davy Jones locker!

Of course everyone has their own selfish reason for wanting to rescue Jack. Will Turner needs the Black Pearl to rescue his father from the clutches of Davy Jones, Barbosa (another Pirate leader, brought back from the dead) searches for Jack because he has one of the nine pieces needed to release Calypso, and Elizabeth seeks out Jack because of her guilt for leaving him to die in the first place. But even when Jack Sparrow is back among the living what chance do any of them have in escaping their fate!

Expecting a grand old mess in the final installment of this two-part saga I was surprised when all the loose ends were nicely tied up (pay close attention because they do explain everything) and the ending was quite satisfying. All the characters from the past two films are brought back for one final excursion and where the character story lines was a problem in Dead Man's Chest all the knots were worked out here. My main complaint about the last film was the three main characters were all off on their own story lines which made for little interaction and a rather jumbled mess, but this time around all their individual story lines from the previous film seem to meld together quite nicely into one.

What also makes this film slightly more enjoyable is the return of Captain Barbosa, while you'd think bringing him back into an already character laden story would be suicide, but it actually works quite beautifully and he fits well into the scheme of things. The introduction of Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) didn't hurt the film as I assumed it might have either. I also wasn't shocked or disappointed by his limited screen time as it appears many others were, Sao Feng played a pivotal role in winding up the story if he'd been used anymore I think it would have only bogged down an already full plot. Finally, Keith Richards as Sparrow's father was a brief cameo appearance but incredibly well done and it's quite clear why Depp modeled his character after Richards.

The major plus for me in At World's End was more Keira Knightley, she was practically given the short end of the stick in the last film but her character more than makes up for it this time around with more screen time than she had in the first two films combined. Knightley has made it quite clear she won't be returning for any future installments so I think she received a nice farewell treatment in this conclusion. As for Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom they're actually quite under used compared to the past two films, but the story never suffers because of it. Actually without a lot of Sparrow the film seemed more serious than the last one and ended up being a nice change.

Overall, At World's End was slightly better than the previous installment, more main character interaction, less corniness, and a nicely tied up story makes this one a little more enjoyable, but still not better than the first. Of course Dead Man's Chest had the upper hand in terms of action, while At World's End only real large fling is at the end, which was a little disappointing considering it's the longest film in the series. But if you enjoyed Dead Man's Chest then you're sure to love this film, frankly people need to lighten up on this series and accept it for what its meant to be; fun and entertaining. If you want to rationalize everything that goes on in then series then don't bother watching them. With three of my favorite leading actors, who consistently deliver entertaining performances, this series is by far one of my favorite trilogy's. The ending hints at another possible adventure for Jack Sparrow, and if he returns I'll be there as long as the series continues to stay fresh and more importantly fun, because that's what makes these movies great!

9/10