Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End

hey everyone

yeah, i know the film is now 7 - 8 months old, but like many of you out there we tend to wait for the DVD to be out, going to the cinema being somewhat tricky, expensive and, thanks to idiots with cellphones who think they are important, a generally unpleasant experience. and so, when James went for a nap this afternoon, we finally watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3, the disc arriving earlier this week.

we were kind of expecting it to be, at best, mildly entertaining with a few good one liners from Johnny Depp as the good Captain Jack Sparrow. oh dear.




the film seems to suffer greatly from the same folly as others have when they have made two sequels at the same time - the 2nd and 3rd Back To The Future films were mediocre at best, and parts 2 and 3 of the Matrix trilogy are excellent examples of very bad film making.

if you take the latter of the above, there is nothing in At World's End that is as tedious and as lame as the opening 30 minutes on a train station platform a la the 3rd Matrix film, but it gets close. everyone watching a Pirates film does so to see Jack Sparrow, and he is absent for the first 30 or so minutes. the film has so many sub-plots and different characters on the go, a number of them of no interest and generally dull, the makers appear to have forgotten that Captain Jack was why the first film was such a huge hit, and why many went back for the second. i gather this Chow Yun Fat chap is rather popular, for example, but it seems that the only reason he is in this movie is so that they could put his face and name on the poster.





it's not like it bothers to address the ending of the second film, either - i am not going to give much away here, i don't think. the "cliffhanger" with Captain Jack at the end of the second is unresolved, you just assume that it worked out for him.

the plot, as it is, doesn't really cause much excitement - the meeting of the nine pirate brethren is built up for ages, then not a lot happens in it. remember all the heavy handed political nonsense going on in Star Wars Episode I? for some reason there is an attempt to emulate it here, albeit with a failed comical spin. and of course, there is no real ending as such - the door is wide open for more, if all and sundry involved could be persuaded to return, or if they decide to cast other actors and make it on the cheap.

even the "surprise" cameo of Keith Richards is a bit flat, really. Keith shoots someone, reads from a book, fiddles with a guitar for a bit and throws his hat into the air. that's it folks - think very carefully if you only want to see the film for the great one's appearance.

i am not sure that anyone uses my reviews as a guide, and if they do this one is probably a bit late anyway. if you are curious, or want to see how it all "ends" as such, you may wish to consider renting this instead of buying it. then again, if like me you have bought the other two, you are probably going to want it on the shelf anyway, just to make up the complete set. a clever trick from Disney that is, making you feel obliged to have them all.

sadly, i have to say proceed with extreme caution and rather low expectations if you opt to approach Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End.

yo-ho, me hearties..................