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There's no denying that the executive who greenlit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was one gutsy fellow. Not many people would approve a budget far north of $100 million for a film set in an all-but-dead genre, based on an ancient Disney World ride, no less. The result, of course, was one of the most original, charming, and widely accessible films of the last decade. Now, director Gore Verbinski's trilogy reaches its end, and despite a few spats of confusion, it does so as boldly as it began.
At World's End picks up a bit after Dead Man's Chest: Barbosa has returned from the dead, and William and Elizabeth have learned that it's possible to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow from the same fate. To that end, William has tried to steal a navigational chart from one of the nine Pirate Lords so they can find their way to Davey Jones' locker and find Jack.
The audience can be forgiven for not realizing there were nine Pirate Lords, as there wasn't any mention of it before, despite the fact that we were two-thirds of the way into the trilogy already. More details are then added: Barbosa calls for a ceremonial meeting of the Pirate Lords, relating to their decision long ago to imprison Calypso, the Goddess of the Sea. Why these events and histories were not foreshadowed, I don't know, but the film suffers early on by cramming it all in. It feels a good more like exposition than revelation.
Things pick up a bit after that dizzying amount of information, and the Pirates charm and levity starts to shine through. Verbinski has struck a delicate balance, wherein everything is simultaneously exciting and amusing. So deft is this balance, that the film stays entertaining even near the end of the first hour, when the plot's machinations and criss-crossing betrayals become impossible to make sense of. If anyone reading this can state with any confidence just who was playing whom, and why, my tri-cornered hat is off to you.
Convolutions aside, the film is breezy and fun most of the way through. Every noteworthy character from the first two films makes an appearance, but it never feels obligatory. The cast has a good time of it, with everyone pulling their weight. Depp avoids becoming a caricature of himself or mugging for the camera, and Keith Richards is surprisingly coherent in his much-ballyhoed role as Jack's father.
There's a lot going on here, and large portions of the plot feel entirely unnecessary, but for every untied loose end there are several satisfying conclusions, and the fate of one major character is both surprising and daring. In the end, much more of it works than not, and the climactic battle sequences are genuinely thrilling. It also goes without saying that the film is a technical wonder, featuring seamless CGI and mind-boggling set and costume work.
While not as neatly wrapped as The Curse of the Black Pearl, At World's End still has plenty of substance behind its spectacle, and ends the ingenuitive trilogy on a strong note.
At World's End picks up a bit after Dead Man's Chest: Barbosa has returned from the dead, and William and Elizabeth have learned that it's possible to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow from the same fate. To that end, William has tried to steal a navigational chart from one of the nine Pirate Lords so they can find their way to Davey Jones' locker and find Jack.
The audience can be forgiven for not realizing there were nine Pirate Lords, as there wasn't any mention of it before, despite the fact that we were two-thirds of the way into the trilogy already. More details are then added: Barbosa calls for a ceremonial meeting of the Pirate Lords, relating to their decision long ago to imprison Calypso, the Goddess of the Sea. Why these events and histories were not foreshadowed, I don't know, but the film suffers early on by cramming it all in. It feels a good more like exposition than revelation.
Things pick up a bit after that dizzying amount of information, and the Pirates charm and levity starts to shine through. Verbinski has struck a delicate balance, wherein everything is simultaneously exciting and amusing. So deft is this balance, that the film stays entertaining even near the end of the first hour, when the plot's machinations and criss-crossing betrayals become impossible to make sense of. If anyone reading this can state with any confidence just who was playing whom, and why, my tri-cornered hat is off to you.
Convolutions aside, the film is breezy and fun most of the way through. Every noteworthy character from the first two films makes an appearance, but it never feels obligatory. The cast has a good time of it, with everyone pulling their weight. Depp avoids becoming a caricature of himself or mugging for the camera, and Keith Richards is surprisingly coherent in his much-ballyhoed role as Jack's father.
There's a lot going on here, and large portions of the plot feel entirely unnecessary, but for every untied loose end there are several satisfying conclusions, and the fate of one major character is both surprising and daring. In the end, much more of it works than not, and the climactic battle sequences are genuinely thrilling. It also goes without saying that the film is a technical wonder, featuring seamless CGI and mind-boggling set and costume work.
While not as neatly wrapped as The Curse of the Black Pearl, At World's End still has plenty of substance behind its spectacle, and ends the ingenuitive trilogy on a strong note.