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

Movie Info

Wow…I really need a pile of crabs to carry the ship to water

Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) has taken control of the heart of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and as a result the Flying Dutchman.  Now, he’s terrorizing the seas and destroying the pirates’ way of life.  Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), Will Turner (Orland Bloom), Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and their crew trying to rescue Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from death, but each has their own agenda.  A war is coming and the pirates are choosing sides and the final battle is coming…and nothing will be the same!

Directed by Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World’s End is the third entry in Disney’s popular action-adventure fantasy series.  Following Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest in 2006, the film became the most expensive film ever made.  The film for the most part received negatives reviews but the movie was a massive hit.  The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects.

I’m too much woman for you!

The first Pirates of the Caribbean was much like Star Wars and the second and third parts represent The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  The movie went from the stand alone film to “a trilogy” with a plot running through Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End…and like Return of the Jedi, the conclusion is a letdown but for different reasons.

By no means was Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest equal to Star Wars:  The Empire Strikes Back but it does play out better than this rather messy sequel.  The movie is almost three hours long and dull, dull, dull.  It feels like much of this story has been played out before in the other films.  The script is way too full and the plot aspects almost become gibberish in regards to what is going on…plus, you get almost an arthouse film with Johnny Depp running around a deserted ship talking to himself for a chunk of the movie.

Welcome back Davy Jones and his wacky band of pirates!

The cast remains strong, but they are also wearing thin.  The Will-Elizabeth-Jack love triangle is getting old and this is the final film for both Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.  Even Johnny Depp’s clever portrayal of Jack Sparrow feels tired with his one liners though much of the movie’s only charm relies on him.  Geoffrey Rush fares better as Barbosa due his absence in the second film.  Tim Hollander plays a rather weak villain, but Bill Nighy is still impressive as Davy Jones.  I like the expanded role of Naomie Harris who turns out to be the goddess Calypso in earthly form.  The movie also features the much anticipated cameo of Keith Richards as Jack’s pirate father (Depp based his character off of Richards).

The last chance for Will and Elizabeth?

I will give Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World’s End this, it looks fantastic.  I think the visuals of all three films (particularly Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End) look great.  The movie characters really have depth and feeling…it is too bad that the script doesn’t.

Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World’s End is an ending.  It feels like it wraps up the story of Will and Elizabeth making it obvious that the movie was really about those two characters with Jack as a foil.  With a little juggling of cast and script, the franchise could have been saved, but the even worse next film Pirates of the Caribbean:  On Stranger Tides in 2011 shows that the movie’s rejuvenation still needed more work.

Related Links:

Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Pirates of the Caribbean:  On Stranger Tides (2011)

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Video Game