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Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
by Kathryn Durfee
06/01/2007
"No one move. I've dropped me brains." At least that's how I felt after spending almost three hours watching the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. At World's End is a bloated film that strives to entertain but ultimately disappoints.
When last we left our buccaneers, Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) had been swallowed by the Kraken, Elizabeth's and Will's (Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom) relationship was on the rocks, Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) had been brought back to life, and all had vowed to rescue Jack in order to bring an end to the tyrannical Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), thus freeing "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, Will's father, from the clutches of the Flying Dutchman.
Thus, we have three competing ships and crews: the Endeavor, carrying the slimy Beckett of the British Navy; the Black Pearl, captained by Barbossa and looking for Jack, and the Flying Dutchman. Further complicating matters is the fact that all of the major characters have different motives that cause them to frequently change allegiances, creating multiple confusing plot twists.
At least they've caught on that we can't get enough of Captain Jack. When we meet up with him in the Locker, he is deeply involved in a surreal dream sequence in which he plays every crew member on the beached Black Pearl. An army of sand crabs help to reunite Sparrow with his crew, and he agrees to join them despite their past attempts at his murder and mutiny.
A meeting of the Brethren Court, which consists of nine pirate lords from across the seas, is called in order to decide what to do about both Beckett, who threatens the pirate way of life, and Jones, who threatens the seas. Barbossa tricks the Brethren into freeing Calypso, the sea goddess responsible for Jones' fate, and Elizabeth, who ends up being elected "Pirate King" (don't ask, honestly, it's not worth explaining), orders the fleets to fight Beckett.
The Brethren is made up of purely stereotypical international characters, making it appear as if Verbinski took a ride through the It's A Small World portion of Disneyworld. This is also where Keith Richards makes an appearance, though his role is a bit disappointing. Clearly his real life spent falling out of coconut trees is more eventful than his role as a pirate.
A huge battle between the three ships begins, causing a massive storm that creates a whirlpool and entwines the Pearl and the Dutchman. Calypso is freed, Jones is released of his burden of the Dutchman and heartbreak over Calypso, and one of the major characters takes his place (to reveal this would be to spoil one of the few parts of the plot that makes sense, sort of). There is also a marriage sequence too ridiculous to discuss. Thus, most everyone gets what they want, and yo ho, it's left open for another installment.
At World's End wants to recapture the fun of the first but fails due to the unreasonably clunky plot. Dead Man's Chest turned the series into a huge advertisement for the theme park ride, and though At World's End tries to mask the confusing plot with over-the-top charisma and special effects, nothing can hide the reality that this film is constructed of illogical instances and weighed down by lengthy scenes of exposition that don't clarify anything.
With Bruckheimer producing, plenty of explosions are promised and delivered but not much is left when the debris settles. It's a bit more violent than most Disney movies, killing off several second-tier characters and one major character (though judging from Barbossa's reappearance, not many pirates stay dead). In addition, At World's End gets a bit risque at the end... let's just say Elizabeth and Will resolve their lover's spat.
Overall, At World's End was better than Spider-Man 3, but still an unfulfilling and very long (168 minutes!) trip to the movies. Here's hoping that this summer's remaining handful of sequels are better.
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