Synopsis
The pirates are back and badder than ever in this third installment of the Disney saga. Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) is stuck in Davy Jones’ Locker and the rag-tag gang of mutineers, maidens, and swordsmiths must journey to World’s End to bring him back to the land of the living. But they are pursued by the evil East India Trading Co., who now controls Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his cursed ship, The Flying Dutchman. A dangerous storm is brewing and the nine pirate lords must be united to wage war and keep the seas free…..
Review
So this review is a little late since this movie was released in May, but as my new “editor” pointed out, I have to write this one to complete my review of Dead Man’s Chest. I gave that a conditional 4 stars so I need to review this movie and then make an addendum to that review. To keep it simple, I’m going to use my new format to cover reviews a little more quickly.
Plot: This plot is confusing as all heck, which highlights the poor planning and execution of the second film as well as this one. There are a lot of subplots which don’t necessarily come together very well. Though I liked this movie far more than I liked the second chapter, this one could have been better. Better planning on the screenwriters’ parts could have distributed the subplots more evenly between the films and made At World’s End a little more understandable. If you don’t catch everything when you see this movie, don’t worry, neither did most people. Even the director said it was confusing. And if anyone cares, the Callipso subplot served absolutely no purpose (except to create a giant whirlpool). I must admit that Keith Richard’s cameo was amusing. Oh, and any romantics in the audience may have a slightly bitter taste in their mouths when all is said and done.
Action/Effects: The action in this movie was pretty good. I was definitely entertained even if I didn’t fully get what was going on. The sword fights were pretty well choreographed and the CGI stuff looked pretty good. They definitely tried to top part 2, which I think they accomplished.
Overall: This was definitely an improvement over Dead Man’s Chest, but it still didn’t meet expectations. I go back to a previous comment that this plot/series is not an epic or great saga. Each film should have been completely self contained. Since it is a big CGI/action flick, it’s worth seeing in the theaters, but still not up to snuff. Grab a matinée show, it’s not worth the prime time ticket price.
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)
July 4th, 2007 at 11:09 AM
So why exactly is “editor” in quotation marks like that? If you have a problem with me correcting commas over your shoulder, you should just come out and say it.
I have to agree with your review here–I was excited to see this movie but left disappointed. Even a rabid Johnny Depp fan like me couldn’t overlook the convoluted plot.
Since you didn’t comment on the acting here, I’ll put in my two cents. Johnny Depp was amusing as usual, but unfortunately the gags were just more of the same from the first two films. As funny as Captain Jack Sparrow is, this seadog needs to learn a few more tricks. While I think Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly have improved slightly since the first film, they are still only levels above automotan status. And shame on the screenwriters for wasting Chow Yun-Fat’s valuable time.
July 10th, 2007 at 4:19 PM
Oh happy day!!! My favorite film review site is back…with a vengeance =)
I’m liking the new look a lot and find myself hooked by these incredibly well edited write-ups. Merryl, you should buy your “editor” dinner for the great job
As for the movie in question, POTC:AWE was more like POTC:POS. Maybe that’s a little harsh but it really squandered any residual good will I had after the first movie and validated all the bile I had spewed on the second installment. Johnny Depp needs to move on to something else worthy of his talents and Orlando Bloom needs to take a long walk off a short plank (pirate jokes…heh…sorry).