After “Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” was released in 2006, Disney immediately worked on the third installment titled, “At World’s End” with The Cast & Crew returning to The Black Pearl for an epic adventure concluding a trilogy in an attempt to capitalize on the critical and commercial success of “The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.”
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End was released in 2007. (same year Enchanted came out) Like its predecessor, the third installment received mixed reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Despite divisive reactions, At World’s End became the highest grossing film of 2007. Two sequels titled, “On Stranger Tides” & “Dead Men Tell No Tales” were released in 2011 & 2017.
Disney’s upcoming “Jungle Cruise” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson & Emily Blunt will be released on July 30th. Which is Christopher Nolan’s birthday. Before it comes out, I’d like to share what’s good or bad about At World’s End.
I don’t give a hoot listing SPOILERS. I’m pretty mad about two things that pushed my buttons. If you wanna know why, scroll down.
Rich & Poor Aspects
Rich: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Kevin R. McNally, Naomie Harris, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Cook, Jack Davenport & Jonathan Pryce reprise their roles and they all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Gore Verbinski did a good job directing.
Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio wrote the script.
Jerry Bruckheimer produced the film.
Action Sequences are filled with sword fights, naval combat and creative stunts.
Practical Effects were used to create action scenes, stunts, ships among a few things.
Visual Effects brought Davy Jones, his crew and last but not least multiple Jacks.
Cinematography was shot carefully. Never suffered from Shaky Cam.
Chemistry between Will & Elizabeth continues to grow. They eventually got married.
Humor contains visual gags and witty dialogue courtesy of Jack & Barbossa’s bickering.
Costumes were designed, reflecting each character’s personality. Especially Jack.
The Tone is darker than the last two films. The Opening is controversial for a Disney film. It starts with Lord Beckett hanging convicts onscreen including a little boy. I bet kids peed in pants that’ll give them night terrors. Now I fully understand why Edward Norton’s deleted opening from “The Incredible Hulk” was cut with Bruce Banner attempting to shoot himself in the head. Only to transform as Hulk.
Hans Zimmer orchestrated music for the third film. Parlay is my favorite track. Wanna know why? Hans pays tribute to Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack from “Once Upon A Time In The West.” I have to give it an Extra Point because the series has gone from a swashbuckling action-adventure fantasy comedy to an epic swashbuckling neo-noir western.
Chow Yun-Fat factors in as Sao Feng. A pirate lord who helps The Crew giving coordinates to Jack trapped in Davy Jones’ Locker.
I chuckled when Elizabeth removes her weapons. What makes it so funny is Barbossa’s reaction after she removes a sawed-off shotgun from her back. He was like how did she do that?
Jack seeing multiple versions of himself is one of my favorite scenes. Me and my friend Iain had a conversation about that scene which is basically Johnny Depp’s past roles spanning from 1984-2007. We did a headcount listing his roles including “A Nightmare On Elm Street,” “21 Jump Street,” (TV show) “Edward Scissorhands,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” Benny And Joon,” “Ed Wood,” “Don Juan DeMarco,” “Donny Brasco,” “Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Blow,” “Once Upon A Time In Mexico,” “Finding Neverland,” “Secret Window,” “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory,” “Corpse Bride” & “Sweeney Todd.” All I’m trying to say is in fact Johnny is rehearing in character speaking to his past roles or just talking to himself.
After Jack escapes purgatory, he and Barbossa must work together in order to defeat Beckett & Davy by uniting all pirates lords for an epic battle for the sea.
My favorite line is “The world’s still the same, there’s just less in it.” I have to give this line from Jack a bunch of Bonus Points. American Film Institute (AFI for short) needs to put my favorite line from At World’s End as part of a revised “Top 100 Movie Quotes.” Every time I hear that line, it gives me chills.
Tia says “Poor unfortunate souls.” A reference to “The Little Mermaid.” A wink from Disney.
During an epic battle, Will & Elizabeth get married. Without a doubt, I think this is the best marriage in cinematic history.
Elizabeth seeks revenge towards Beckett after he overthrows her father and is sent to the afterlife. A deleted scene shows Governor Swann’s fate.
At World’s End is one of the big threequels about revenge released in May 2007 alongside “Spider-Man 3” & “Shrek The Third.”
Davy’s backstory is fleshed out. He used to be a human who was in love with a goddess named, Calypso. She’s later revealed to be Tia Dalma in human form. Davy isn’t a diabolical monster, he’s just a cursed individual with a tragic past. Davy is my favorite villain from the series.
When Will stabs Davy, the latter exclaims “I’m heartless.” Hearing the word heartless makes me want to replay “Kingdom Hearts III.”
At one point, Elizabeth says “This is madness.” 300 came out in 2006/2007. All it’s missing is King Leonidas’ epic reply, “THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards makes a cameo appearance as Jack’s father. As you may know, Jack’s appearance is based on Keith.
Pintel & Ragetti provide comic relief. They bid Elizabeth farewell saying “Goodbye poppet.”
The film ends with Jack going on a quest to look for The Fountain Of Youth, setting up the fourth film.
Like the first film, Jack says “Drink up me hearties yo-ho.” My favorite line from The Curse Of The Black Pearl.
A Post-Credit Scene reveals Will & Elizabeth have a kid. Will arrived ten years later to see his family.
Poor: Remember Davy fatally stabs Will in the heart? Will somehow manages to live within a minute or two before he stabs Davy in the heart. In real life, Will would’ve easily kicked the bucket.
Davy Jones’ death wasn’t earned. I think Disney done him dirty. After Will stabs Davy’s heart, he utters out his last word, “Calypso.” Then he falls towards the whirlpool. His death could’ve been improved if Davy spares Will when he realizes he’s about to kill Elizabeth’s newly wed. Reminding him of Calypso, Davy switches sides with The Black Pearl. He tells Will to keep in eye on his heart. If he kills Beckett, Davy allows Will to free his father and take over as captain of The Flying Dutchman. After Davy defeats Beckett, Will stabs Davy’s heart, allowing him to die peacefully. Suddenly, Calypso’s crabs carry Davy’s body to the sea as his resting place as an homage to Penguin’s tragic death scene from “Batman Returns.” I’m shocked Disney done Davy dirty without earning him redemption and a glorified death.
My biggest problem with At World’s End is giving Beckett a glorified death ignoring the fact he’s a psychopathic tyrannical warlord lacking empathy. Iain and I were furious when Beckett has his final moments feeling defeated as his crew flee like little girl. Beckett is not a tragic villain like Penguin, Seth Brundle, (from The Fly 1986) Bane, Thanos and Magento. Beckett is never given a complex tragic backstory. Something tells me Gore Verbinski forced Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio to rewrite Beckett giving him a glorified death instead of Davy. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Gore pulled an “Alien 3” on Davy. I have no choice but to Triple Down this flaw, because Gore made a huge boo boo forcing the audience to care about Beckett. It’s like “Alien Resurrection” all over again this stinker was trying too hard for fans to care about Winona Ryder, rather than Hicks & Newt from one of my favorite films of all time, “Aliens.” A shame they were done dirty by Fox. I really give a crud for them not Winona’s character, Annalee Call.
The Final Verdict: B-
Despite my biggest gripe on Gore Verbinski forcing Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio to pull an Alien 3 towards Davy Jones, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End is not a masterpiece or a clunker. I consider it as my third favorite film of the series. Dead Man’s Chest is my second favorite and The Curse Of The Black Pearl is arguably my favorite. I was this close to ranking At World’s End a C- thanks to all the positive stuff listed, it deserves a B- as a warning for Disney and filmmakers not to make a similar mistake killing off a beloved character without given a proper setup. Care to explain Rian Johnson, (The Last Jedi) Zack Snyder, (Batman VS. Superman) J.J. Abrams (The Rise Of Skywalker) & Tim Miller? (Terminator: Dark Fate) If you want to introduce your kids to Pirates Of The Caribbean, watch all movies in chronological order.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 