Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Review

Call it a case of lowered expectations, but I was very much satisfied with number three. I don't really know why, considering it was so so so so similar, in fact almost the same movie as two, but for some reason I liked this one slightly more. Slightly though; there are some glaring issues still.

You know what? I'm not even going to begin to try to describe the story. It's plain laughable, and to be honest, I didn't know what the hell was going on in the middle of it. But, if you really feel you need it, everyone is looking for Jack, they find him, then some sort of bargain happens, they want Calypso, they want Davy Jones' heart, they fight, a lot. This is the huge huge HUGE problem with Pirates, as it was for the last one. The story is almost unintelligible. It's not complex, because complex normally has a good connotation; it's complicated, and unnecessarily so. The only purpose of the needlessly long dialogue sequences is to get to the next action scene. If the story were a little more simple, this would be okay, because number one, there wouldn't be all this junk we have to sift through, and two, the movie would be slightly shorter. I like long movies, don't get me wrong, but if half the dialogue was taken out and replaced with action, I wouldn't mind this length. And another thing that bothers me is that some, if not all, the characters' accents are so difficult to understand. If they spoke in a normal, relatively loud tone this would be fine (I'm normally proficient at understanding through accents). But half the time they are screaming, whispering, or talking while others are talking. For instance, when Calypso is huge, and she is screaming, I can honestly say I have no idea if she was screaming words or just gibberish. And with such complicated storytelling, this only adds to your confusion. Next time? Make the story simpler. Please. I'm sick of having to listen intently for half of the movie and trying to decipher what it is they're saying, and how it pertains to the plot.

Whew. That was a rant. But you all know it's true. So what was better about this one? To be honest, I don't know. Maybe it felt more epic; maybe it had the feeling of ending the trilogy; maybe it was Keith Richards' cameo; whatever it was, I did like this one more. For one, there was a lot more Jack Sparrow, and Barbossa returns! Both play their parts amazingly as usual, and Depp is in top form. Seriously, I wouldn't have a problem with him being nominated for Best Actor again. Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are good as well, better I thought than the last one, but their story is starting to bore me. And Keith Richards as Jack's dad? Ha ha...hilarious...hilarious. Oh and Chow Yun-Fat!

What was really impressive was the action, and all that it encompasses. The fight scenes were insane and engaging. The last one especially. It was very epic and the buildup was pretty nice. The fight between Jack and Davy Jones is awesome. That fight in itself was worth the price of admission. It had everything that made the Pirates series good in the first place: great sword-fighting, good humor, and a general sense of improvisation.

Along with the action comes absolutely insane visual effects. These are definitely on-par with the likes of Revenge of the Sith and Spider-Man 3. Davy Jones is probably one of, if not the best complete CGI character ever created. And the actor, Bill Nighy, is amazing at his role. It's like he was built for it, sort of like Depp was built for Sparrow. Anyway, all of the effects, even the ships themselves, seem even better than Dead Man's Chest. They are just very realistic and extremely detailed. When they get involved in small quarrels, or incredible ship-to-ship mayhem, however you see it, their destruction is a wonder to behold.

In the end, it's all relatively satisfying. You get the sense that this is the third movie in a trilogy, but of course, a cash cow such as Pirates of the Caribbean can't end, and the movie does everything it can to hint, if not telegraph, that there will, definitely, be another Pirates of the Caribbean. Luckily for us all, At World's End ends the trilogy as simply as it started. I won't give it away, though I sort of just did. Oh, and it's pretty obvious that Will and Elizabeth will be back (damn). But, in the movie's defense, Will and Elizabeth seem to have an interesting plot now. We will see.

So yay, start those celebrations, it is better than two. If it was even the same as two, I probably would have hated it. But with insane action, dazzling effects, and more Jack Sparrow, this movie tops the second, but still doesn't quite live up to the first one. You dig?

At least there's rum now...

3/5