PoTC: At World's End Review

I just got back from seeing the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and have to say that I really liked it. In a nutshell, it was better than Dead Man's Chest, but can't hold a candle to the original Curse of the Black Pearl.

I'll try to be spoiler-free in my comments here. Of course we know that Barbossa is back in this movie. I think his absence in the second movie was a big problem with that movie. Geoffrey Rush's portrayal is quintessentially piratical. Johnny Depp is superb, as always. Orlando Bloom is less obnoxious than usual. Keira Knightley is passable.

Some reviews complained that the story was too complicated. I don't think so at all. The movie takes it time as it moves the plot forward. Sometimes a little too slowly, which is another complaint some people have. The flip-flop of allegiances, now a standard plot device in these pirate films, were more methodical and gave the viewer time to think out the implications of the latest bargain.

My favorite scene was also the most surprising to me. Our heroes encounter the body of an enemy and, while some rejoice, Sparrow looks saddened. Barbossa says the world is getting smaller. Sparrow replies that no the world is the same size, there is just less in it. That has really stuck with me. These pirate movies offer adventure of almost mythic proportions. Following the tales of Sparrow and his compatriots is like watching the fantastic intermingled with the mundane. The death of an enemy removes some of the fantasy (read imagination) from our lives. The world is indeed the same size, but it is a little dimmer.

Anyway, it is hard to say much more without giving away the movie. There are some pretty gruesome and macabre scenes, so this is one movie definitely not for children. I especially disliked the opening scene. There are ways to make the same point without having to be as graphic as that. (As an aside, Lord Beckett says "finally" after one of his lackeys makes a report. The movie never explains why he was waiting for that sign...)

Still, all in all, it is a very good movie and worth shelling out the money to see it on the big screen. Oh, and stay past the closing credits - there is a little surprise that I unfortunately missed...