Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End [M]

With the heart of Davy Jones in the hands of Cutler Beckett, the East India Trading Company is taking over the seas with the Flying Dutchman bringing down any ship it its wake. With all their hideouts under attack, the free pirates of the world must come together in the Brethren Court and decide what needs to be done: will they sit and cower or will that stand and fight?

At this point, it’s pointless expecting anything as phenomenal as Curse of the Black Pearl. With this being the follow on to Dead Man’s Chest, you just need to sit back and enjoy the ride. I will say though, that there was not as much exaggerated action this time round and the script played a bigger role that it had in the last movie. 

With the heart of Davy Jones in the hands of Cutler Beckett, the East India Trading Company is taking over the seas, with the Flying Dutchman bringing down any ship in its wake. With every pirate and every person associated with piracy under attack, a final stand has to be made. As the Last Song is sung, the Brethren Court is called together, and Will, Elizabeth and the crew of the Black Pearl embark upon a rescue mission to Davy Jones’ Locker, under the command of the once-dead Captain Barbossa, to bring back Captain Jack Sparrow, the last of the nine pirate lords who must attend the Brethren Court. With all the free pirates of the world coming together, they must make one final decision: do they sit and cower or do they stand and fight? 

Toning down on the computer graphics and exaggerated swordfights, At World’s End was a better film in terms of script and story. As Captain Jack and Cutler Beckett go head to head, you find yourself, along with every other character, in an intricate web of cleverness with each character trying to outsmart the others. Every action in this story is planned by someone else and it’s really interesting writing. 

The other thing that made this film for me was the gag with Captain Jack. Remember how in Curse of the Black Pearl, I mentioned that Johnny Depp based the character of Captain Jack on a cross between Pepe Le Pew and Keith Richards? Well, guess who plays Captain Jack’s father! That’s right rockers, there’s a Rolling Stone in a pirate film! Now that’s a clever gag. 

The other nice thing about this movie was that there was more emphasis placed upon the final battle, rather than exaggerated one-on-one swordfights. The final battle at the climax of the movie was awesome! And I also have to say that I enjoyed Keira Knightley’s passionate speech to her fellow pirates. It was very liberating. 

Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Chun Yow Fat, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Stellen Skarsgard, Mackenzie Crook, Lee Arenberg, Kevin R. McNally, and Naomie Harris, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was a fun and rollicking ride on a ship bound for Hell. Filled with swashbuckling action, epic ocean battles, romance, and plenty of humour, it’s not as good as the first one, but it’s better balanced that the second one. Either way, you have to have it in the collection.

 “Yo ho. Haul together. Hoist the colours high. Heave ho. Thieves and beggars. Never shall we die.”