Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is the latest installment in the famed pirate series that we all know and love. In this installment, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) must scour the Earth for the end of the world and the entrance to the “weird and haunted shores” of Davy Jones’ Locker in order to rescue the famed pirate, Jack *cough* Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the depths of the underworld. All the while, the East India Trading Company, with the tragic Davy Jones at their disposal, is bringing about an end to piracy on a massive scale and attempting to unlock the mystery of the mystical pirate fetishes, the Nine Pieces of Eight. Davy Jones himself faces drama as he is forced into submission by the East India Trading Company and he comes face to face with the woman he literally cut his heart out for, Calyspo, the goddess of the seas. After numerous story twists, subplots, and backstabbings, the nine pirate nations of the world unite together in one final, dramatic struggle for survival.
I have been very impressed with the past installments in this series, in fact I rate them as some of the best movies I have seen. This movie, though maybe not as good as the last, is no exception. There’s plenty of drama, action, plot, and humor to go around and it is all done very well. Laughs were heard throughout the theater along with “Whoa”s and gasps. Every clash of the sword and explosion of the cannon just made you want to be a pirate. The depth of the story is actually quite astounding as well. But what really sets this movie apart from the rest is the strong sense of ambiance. Every scene has been meticulously designed to create the most dramatic emotional affect and intense sense of beauty. The rain swept decks of the Flying Dutchman, the dripping candles of the pirate meeting place on Shipwreck Island, and the exotic shores of Singapore are all beautifully done. Any still from this movie could be framed and put in a museum. The movie is 168 minutes long (almost 3 hours), but it will seem like mere moments.
On the downside, this isn’t the best installment in the series. The most notable flaw is the convoluted plot. Though still comprehendable, it was so confusing that many viewers thought they were watching Lost. One guy betrays that guy, that guy betrays the other guy, they all compromise and decide to betray some other guy who is planning for them all to betray him, which is all part of the plan of the first guy which goes horribly wrong when the other guy gets stabbed through the heart. It’s kind of like that except with magic! There are also many things that are not satisfactorily explained, like the magic coins and the Davy Jones love plot, among other things. The movie also relies too heavily upon the other two movies for comic material. For instance, the undead monkey is in almost every scene and turtles are continuously referenced for some reason and it really makes for some lame jokes, though these are certainly made up for. Another thing that I personally did not like is that I felt that some of the nuances kind of ruined some of the things that were cool in the last movie. The portrayal of Tia Dalma as a tragic character, for instance, really ruined what we loved about her in Dead Man’s Chest.
Despite these downsides, Pirates is definitely worth watching. If you’re not a pirates fan, go ahead and wait for it to come out on video. Otherwise, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. ARRRRRR!!!!!
+ Awesome ambiance
+ Well preformed action sequences
+ Hilarious
+ Good drama
– Too many references to past movies
– Convoluted plot
– Plot holes
➡ What’s really strange is that Johnny is never seen in this constume in the movie. 😯 Is it a reference to the next movie?
