Collegiate Times

Note from the editor: This review contains plot information from the first two “Pirates of the Caribbean” films that you may not wish to read if you have yet to see the films.

Any epic finale to an enormously popular film trilogy is going to come with very high expectations. Insert the same director, writers, composer, producers and actors who delivered the first two record-breaking films, and those expectations become near impossible to meet.

In terms of raw numbers, it is hard to imagine Disney being disappointed by the release of the highly-anticipated “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” The film broke the record for profits over the coveted Memorial Day weekend, grossing over $114 million in its Thursday to Sunday weekend run.

It was not, however, able to top the single weekend record set by Spider Man 3 four weeks ago.

“At World’s End,” like so many other overly-hyped conclusions to blockbuster trilogies (Godfather, Back to the Future, X-Men) is a bit too long and tries to do way too much. This film is crippled amidst a sea of big-budget summer blockbusters, making it easy bait for critics.

Despite these flaws, however, the third chapter in the Pirates franchise is also massively entertaining at times. It delivers more of the same humor, memorable characters and swashbuckling adventure that audiences came to love from the first two films, just in larger doses.

The third film begins right where the second one ended. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is doomed to 100 years of purgatory in Davy Jones’ locker, while his allies and enemies have united to travel to world’s end and retrieve the devious captain.

The rescue party is filled with familiar faces; the idealistic Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) join forces with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and newcomer Captain Feng (Chow Yun-Fat).

Only after Jack has been saved is it revealed that each of his rescuers has their own selfish agenda for saving him, each more complicated than the last. The real conflict however is carried over from the conclusion of “Dead Mans Chest” in which Davy Jones (voiced by the terrific Billy Nighy) is forced into an alliance with the East India Company and its Napoleonic leader Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander).

The Pirates, colonialists and undead crew of Jones’ cursed ship make their final alliances and their final stand in a spectacularly shot 45-minute climactic battle scene at the end of the film.

Most of the problems with “At World’s End” originate with the way writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio chose to end “Dead Man’s Chest.” The primary conflict for the third film had already been completely set up at the end of the second one.

This leaves two hours of empty space for “At World’s End” to fill before finally addressing the resolution between Jones, the East India Company and the alliance of Pirates that was clearly set up in the conclusion of the second film. These two hours are primarily spent following several sub-plots that offer a more in-depth look at most of the major characters, though ultimately are inconsequential to the primary conflict of the film.

That is not to say the film’s beginning and middle are not fun. They deliver exactly what audiences loved from the first two films in the franchise: a clever balance of humor, action, drama and some of the most impressive computer generated effects to ever grace the silver screen.

The inventiveness and imagination used for a lot of the CGI shots are refreshing, especially in Verbinski’s haunting vision of Jack’s personal Hell in Davy Jones’ locker.
After an hour or so the plot becomes much too convoluted, bogged down by the weight of its own depth and complexity. Eventually the convergence of six different story-lines forces the audience to wonder if it is even possible to keep track of the menagerie of different existing mythologies that Bruckheimer and Verbinski have strung together to form the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Another downside to the mass appeal of this film is that in order to understand almost anything that happens in it you must be very familiar with the first two.   

Johnny Depp is once again outstanding as the borderline alcoholic yet grammatically impressive Captain Jack Sparrow. The writers chose (wisely) to reinsert him back into the plotline relatively early in “At World’s End.”

His time on screen with his nemesis Captain Barbossa, a fan-favorite from “The Curse of the Black Pearl,” possesses the same charm and scene-stealing ability from the first film.  

Will Turner, who in actuality is the main protagonist of the trilogy, is given a much bigger role in this film compared to the previous installments. Turner’s character undergoes a well-handled transition from naïve colonialist to full fledged hygiene-deficient, hair-accessorizing pirate.  

Will and Elizabeth’s love story takes a backseat to the individual trials of the two characters, but when their love is finally addressed in the film it is so cheesy that I found myself wishing the producers had just left it alone.

A choreographed fight scene in which Will and Elizabeth exchange nuptials while taking out hordes of mutant pirates is cheesy to the point of ridiculousness, even for a Disney film.

As was the case in “Dead Man’s Chest,” this film is ultimately redeemed by the outstanding performances of an all-star cast and the achievements of the film’s visual effects. Even if you lose track of the multiple plot lines chasing their own tail, much of the film is just plain fun to watch.

The first two pirate films were known for utilizing the very latest in computer technology, and the third is no different. Groundbreaking CGI effects are used generously throughout the film, thanks to an exorbitant 250 million dollar budget.  

“At World’s End” is certainly not as good as either of the first two films, although it has ample amounts of every element that made those films successes. Somewhere along the way it gets lost amidst an overly thick plot and two hour and 45 minute run time.
What it does do well is tie up all the loose strings and answer all the questions raised by the first two films, making it a suitable — although somewhat disappointing — conclusion to the Pirates trilogy.


Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Chow Yun-Fat, Billy Nighy, Naomi Harris
Rated: PG-13
Showtimes: (evening) 6:40, 7:10, 7:40, 8:10, 8:40, 9:10, 10:20, 10:50
Synopsis: Captain Jack, Will and Elizabeth are back and must unite with nine pirate lords to fight the East India Company and Davy Jones, whose alliance threatens the pirates’ very way of life.
Grade: B-