by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
B- Rated PG-13
With fans the world over and billions of dollars already earned, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is right up there with Star Wars in popularity. The third and perhaps final film in the series picks up where the last film left off and ties up all the loose ends left dangling from the second adventure, Dead Man’s Chest.
The East India Trading Company, under the leadership of Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), has vowed to rid the world of piracy and common folk are paying the price. Most basic freedoms have been temporarily abolished and those who have ever had any sort of contact with a pirate are to be put to death regardless of age, sex or station. As the crackdown continues in ports around the world, Elizabeth Swan (Kiera Knightley), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) and the rest of their motley crew are plotting to rescue everyone’s favorite slurring swashbuckler (more on him later). Teamed up with Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), a powerful pirate from Singapore, the unlikely team makes their way to the end of the world and beyond.
Meanwhile, after being swallowed by the Kraken, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is lost in Davy Jones’ Locker, a strange place in the underworld where all that can be seen is vast white sands, a few rocks and Jack’s beloved ship, the Black Pearl, marooned in the dunes. The solitude has caused our hero to loose his mind and he spends his time bossing around a crew of Jack Sparrow hallucinations and throwing rocks at nothing at all. Upon being rescued by his “frienemies,” Sparrow remains slightly unhinged by his experience but is forced to bounce back in order to meet as one of the nine Pirate Lords to decide what should be done about the East India Trading Company’s mission to force them into extinction. The result is the battle to end all battles as the dwindling pirates take on an entire fleet to secure their way of life.
This phenomenal trilogy ends (perhaps?) in nearly perfect form with plenty of action, satisfying conclusions to the big storylines and, best of all, no cliffhangers. Unlike the second film, which felt like half a movie in the story department, At World’s End wrapped everything up nicely, leaving the hint of another sequel but not necessarily a need for one. The last two films relied heavily on showing us strange new creatures and giving us belly laughs at every turn. This time around, the film is more action-driven, with non-stop battles that end in a lot more deaths. The violence isn’t bloody, but it is brutal for what many consider a children’s film, with mass hangings opening the film and ships and crews going down in flames closing it.
A much darker picture, At World’s End has significantly fewer laughs, with the only truly funny bits having to do with Captain Jack and his madness, which happens about 20 minutes in. About midway through comes the film’s only other low point. As the characters make their way to the meeting of the Nine Pirate Lords each tries to double-cross the other, leading to a confusing web of backstabbing a deception. It’s so confusing, you almost have to give up trying to understand it and hope for the best at the end. Luckily, this strategy works. My sister-in-law actually saw the film a second time and found this part much more clear upon the repeated viewing.
I’m still a firm believer that the first Pirates film is the best, but I was not disappointed by the third at all. Compelling action sequences, a visit with some of cinema’s most beloved characters and a satisfying ending make this a successful ending to a remarkable franchise.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
