Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Walt Disney Pictures, May 2007
By Caesar Martini
Yo-ho-ho, mateys, and avast, and, uh… batten the hatches, and other such piratical lingo. Here be the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and it’s going to be a MONSTER hit. I think I just saw the biggest moneymaker of the year.
At World’s End (AWE) continues the increasingly fantastic saga of Captain Jack and his associates. Left in a bit of a spot at the end of the second film (that is to say, dead and eaten), Jack Sparrow must be rescued from his hellish new existence in Davy Jones’ Locker. Once rescued, Jack and the nine pirate lords (yeah, apparently there are pirate lords or whatever) must band together and make one last stand against the royal fleet that’s bent on sinking every pirate ship on the seas. Making matters more difficult for our pirate heroes, the invincible Davy Jones himself is being forced to work against them.
Sound complicated? Well, that’s the simple part. Once you add in the numerous betrayals, secret plots, and, uh, angry goddess of the sea trapped in human form, THEN it gets a little tricky to keep track of. I also got the impression that some plot points were added in more for the convenience of moving things along than for actually making sense; once you stop to think about it, there are more than a couple of moments that leave you with more questions than answers.
However, though it can be a little head-spinning, AWE is a really enjoyable epic. It delves often into the fine line between genius and insanity that Jack Sparrow walks, and that’s enormously entertaining. AWE is filled with little references to the first two films and has an abundance of clever humour. The action and direction of the movie is awesome, with a ton of fun scenes that are great to watch, even when they verge on the cartoony.
I’m still of the opinion that the first movie in the trilogy was the best one, and I certainly think there’s room for improvement in AWE, but it’s just fun. If you go into it with the critical eye of a film nerd, then you’ll be able to pick it apart and destroy it, alongside your chances of enjoying yourself (unless that’s your thing). But if you just want to laugh, and be entertained, Pirates 3 delivers the goods. Sorry, I mean “booty.”
And really bad eggs.
