Buena Vista Pictures Starring: Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightley, Geoffrey Rush
Directed By: Gore Verbinski
Rated: PG-13
Buena Vista Pictures
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (POTC 3) is the second of the most highly-anticipated sequels to hit theaters this summer (after Spider-Man 3) and definitely the better of the two films. As always, I have to admit that my state of mind going into the film might well have an effect on how much I like it. Whereas I was going into Spider-Man 3 with memories of the stellar previous film in my mind, I was going into POTC 3 with the fear that it would be just as bad as last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was a huge disappointment to me.
I was happily surprised to find much of the spirit and fun of the original film in POTC 3. The movie starts off in Singapore, where Captain Barbossa (Rush), Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) and WIll Turner (Orlando Bloom) are trying to obtain help and charts that they need to rescue Jack Sparrow (Depp) from the Land of the Dead (a place at the edge of the world, not the zombie movie). Unfortunately, Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) is working with Davey Jones (Bill Nighy) to rid the world of pirates forever so, after rescuing Jack, the pirates must all come together and make a stand or be destroyed.
The problem with the second film in this series was that there were so many plot elements, characters, and back stories introduced that the film was hard to follow and didn't seem to have a defined beginning, middle, and end. There is no denying that POTC 3 has some vestiges of the same problem. Weighing in at just under three hours long, the movie definitely has some extraneous story elements. Luckily, however, the ultimate goal for the characters is mostly defined from the start, and after they pick up Jack, things move forward at a brisk pace. The film is very long, but it doesn't feel as long as it is (and that's a good thing). Some critics were bothered by the fact that Jack Sparrow doesn't appear in the film until about a quarter of the way through--but I thought that the other characers--especially Captain Barbossa--carry the story well up to the point where they find Jack.
Like the first film, there is plenty of swashbuckling and 19th century naval combat. The visuals are nothing short of spectacular--most of the time, the CG is so good that you don't even think about the fact that the ships couldn't possibly be real, physical things. The directing is wonderful as well, something that has been true throughout the entire series. The film is a treat for the eyes. One particular scene toward the end of the film, where Beckett walks calmly through the explosions and mayhem that surround him, is beautifully executed. Although this film definitely meanders more than the first, the witty dialog that made the first film so much fun is back in this one. And the inclusion of Keith Richards as Jack's father is nothing short of brilliant. (After the first film, Johnny Depp credited Richards as much of the inspiration for the personality and mannerisms of Jack Sparrow.)
When the first Pirates of the Caribbean hit theaters, I was doubtful that an amusement park ride could be turned into a film--and I was delighted to be proven wrong. It appears that the magic and fun of the first film is impossible to capture again--but at least POTC 3 makes a valiant effort. Like the Spider-Man series, rumor has it that three is the limit for the POTC franchise. If that's the case, I think that the series went out on a reasonably high note.
Bottom line: Manages to recapture a lot of the elements that made the first film so much fun.