Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Dir: Gore Verbinski
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5 stars



Despite being the weakest film of the trilogy, At World's End is still a satisfying end to the Pirates of the Caribbean saga. True to the trilogy, the plot has far too much going on at once. And some of my favorite characters were downgraded (e.g., Davy Jones, Norrington). On the other hand, the film brings back the delightful Capt. Barbosa and Cutler Beckett, and ends with one hell of a battle-at-sea.

In this installment, Beckett and the East India Trading Company are wiping the seas clean of pirates with some reluctant help from Davy Jones, who must obey because Beckett now has possession his heart. So a call is made for pirate leaders from across the world (known as the Breathren Court) to convene and declare war against the EIT Co. Meanwhile, Will, Elizabeth, and the Black Pearl crew travel to the underworld (aka Davy Jones' locker) to bring back Jack Sparrow, who was eaten by the Kraken in the previous film.

And that covers the first 20 minutes of the movie. From there on, we get one gigantic clusterfuck of a story. Basically, every character has their own motive and they all keep fucking each other over. It becomes difficult to keep up with. Sparrow wants to immortalize himself, Will wants to free his father from Jones, Barbosa wants to free a sea goddess from her human prison (hoowhaaa??), and so on and so forth. This stuff makes Spider-Man 3 look simple.

Anyway, it's an enjoyable movie whether or not you catch all the details. It wraps the saga up nicely, even if it over-complicates it at times (one word: Calypso). Barbosa is even better than before and I really like all the pirates from across the world joining together to preserve their way of life. And the ending is bolder than I expected - it won't please everyone, but I liked it. I just wish the writers would have heeded the advice, "Less is more."