May 29, 2007

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

  Here it is folks, the conclusion to the trilogy that started with the very popular "Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl." Like many sequels, "Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End" has a lot to live up to, and while it does finish up the story line as neatly as it can, it was still kind of a mess. The first movie; while it was a little "too Disney" and too kiddy for my taste, at least had a lot of fun in it. The second movie; "Dead Man's Chest," started to expand the mythology of the characters, and definitely made things more interesting than just another simple pirates story. Now the third movie tries to combine both of those elements here, but simply ends up feeling like a movie that has an identity crisis, as well as makes the story feel very disjointed. You'll get one scene that's dramatic one moment, then it'll jump to some slapstick comedy involving a monkey.

  There are scenes in this installment that are memorable, and they usually involve Captain Jack Sparrow, once again excellently played by Johnny Depp. Sequences where Jack Sparrow have halucinations are definitely a mind trip, and quite enjoyable to watch. We also get to once again enjoy watching Bill Nighy play Davy Jones, as well as Geoffrey Rush in another stand out performance as Barbosa. However, just like with the previous installments, I've never really been fond of the other two main characters; Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, played by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.  I'm especially annoyed at how much of a "pirate wannabe" Elizabeth Swann's character is, with any plot point involving her automatically making me just roll my eyes.

  "At World's End" tries really hard to cram in as much as they can in a two hours forty-five minutes movie. You think with a lengthy time like that, director Gore Verbinski would be able to fit everything in at a very reasonable pace right? No, not really, as there are many things that just happen in the movie, just because "it has to" for the plot to keep moving. Needless to say, there are many plot holes in the story that makes it hard for me to keep my suspension of disbelief. The movie also kinda panders to the audience a little too much, which I feel shouldn't have been necessary.

  As an end to a trilogy, things could be worse. At this point, I'm only really recommending it for anybody who wants to see how the whole story play out. I liked it, even enjoyed it at many parts, but I definitely didn't love it.

  • 11:40 am
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