'At World's End' thrilling adventure
By Erica Blocher, Staff Writer
June 6, 2007 | 11:09 p.m.
The third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, “At World’s End,” has finally hit theaters, complete with a hallucinating Sparrow, a full-blown British-pirate war and, of course, Will and Elizabeth’s complicated union.
Nothing is ever boring in the pirate world. Thus, the movie picks up where the second one, “Dead Man’s Chest” ended. The ragtag crew of the Black Pearl are accompanied by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). They begin their journey by attempting to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from Davy Jones's locker after Elizabeth left him behind to die.
Once this storyline begins, the movie branches out into several, different stories that are somewhat intertwined. Although there is a great deal going on in the movie and it is important to pay attention, the story lines are not difficult to follow and make the overall story line that much more fascinating and thrilling.
Not only is the crew trying to rescue Sparrow, but they are also trying to bring the goddess Calypso to the Pirate Court in order to release her from her human bonds. The Flying Dutchman and its crew of sea creature misfits return to join in the mayhem, as well.
Of course, this is all amidst the pirates’ battle with the British and the East India Trading Company, which escalates into a full-scale war between the two sides in the last hour of the film. Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander), chairman of the Company, continues to struggle with the pirates for the beating heart of Davy Jones. The war scenes, characterized by shooting cannons and sword-swinging debauchery, take place on land in Singapore as well as on the ships, where pirates fight among themselves as much as against the British.
“At World’s End” keeps the humor and the wit for which the first two movies are famous, largely due to Johnny Depp’s spectacular portrayal of Jack Sparrow. Sparrow is still shameless, conniving and sarcastic as ever, but the scenes involving Sparrow’s time in Davy Jones’s locker are quite hilarious. Depp craftily molds these scenes in which Sparrow hallucinates, seeing multiple versions of himself and contemplating right and wrong. Alas, this does not stop Sparrow from making another selfless sacrifice involving Will and Elizabeth.
Rocker Keith Richards makes an appearance as Sparrow’s pirate father and “Keeper of the Pirate Code,” and the exchange between the two characters is timeless. Elizabeth’s character certainly comes out of the woodwork in this film. As the films progress, her character becomes bold and brazen, and at one point, she is made captain of a pirate ship. She escapes her privileged English upbringing and morphs into a strong-willed, crafty, pirate woman, which is no surprise to Turner or Sparrow.
This turn does not diminish the romantic relationship between her and Will. Will’s character takes an interesting turn at the end of the film, as he makes the final decision between choosing his father or Elizabeth.
Overall, Pirates is a thrilling adventure worth experiencing. This “Pirates” movie is quite the swashbuckling adventure, overflowing with the suspense and excitement “The Curse of the Black Pearl” possessed and “Dead Man’s Chest” seemed to lack.