Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

[FilmKing2000]

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Gore Verbinski, 2007) - It’s not too hard to pinpoint the certain elements that made the first two Pirates of the Caribbean films so successful. The action was chockfull, the comedy was wry and witty, the characters were memorable and relatable, and everything was sealed by a specific sense of old-fashioned mythology, utterly traditional storytelling and dynamics, and an ultimately fulfilling, “don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously” vibe that made the whole experience okay to put limitless amounts of butter in summer popcorn. It’s a cinematic recipe that has been utilized by merely every successful action/adventure franchise: the Indiana Jones trilogy, the Star Wars saga, etc. And after such lackluster disappointments in today’s various franchises, I would like to say that At World’s End, the third and semi-conclusive chapter to the Pirates franchise, manages to uphold its predecessors’ success, but unfortunately, the film further proves that “three” may just be the jaded number when it comes to film triumvirates. Nevertheless, as always, all must be in good fun.

Despite being set on such a grand, dramatically global, and much more epic scale, At World’s End falls just short of being completely turgid. The story is blotched and overstuffed with subplots, dragging sequences of boring, nearly pointless banter, and cheesy, banal through-backs to the original film. It’s quite hard to actually divide the film into three solid acts. While the first act can be easily distinguished as a journey into the supernatural and an interlude to the newer members of the pirate ensemble, the second and third acts are jammed, jumbled, and pasted together with plot points that, when they work, are genuinely successful and intriguing, and when they fail, can be frustratingly dull, and in all the story works on a very hit-or-miss level (while providing a mere equal share of both). While the second installment established a good deal of friction and conflict between the key characters, this film, while not quick on development, certainly remembers what it has to pick up, what has to be resolved, and what themes must be engulfed in order to do so.

As the trusts and loyalties of the protagonists tie and untie through venal action and acts of both selfishness and selflessness, one may think, at first glance, that the film may just unfold into a genuine tale of betrayal. Although this concept was set as a precedent in the film’s predecessor, Dead Man’s Chest, and is played with and utilized in the film, it turns out that the true story may just lie within the choice of redemption that these characters inevitably come across – and this is where we pick up on the more coveted characterization and development. First we have Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan, as their relationship reaches a rocky crossroads, ironically, out of love. As Will becomes detached of the couple’s relationship out of his love for his father and his desperation to free him from the demonic realms of Davy Jones’s locker, Elizabeth is encompassed by her strict loyalty and devotion to Will, her pirate acquaintances, and to that universal battle between good and evil. Then on the polar opposite end of the scale, there are the outrageously askew and utterly selfish antics of Jack Sparrow, whose must choose to either continue chaotically consequential disloyalty amongst the pirate world, or embark upon his redeeming qualities by acting upon selflessness. It all works in a strikingly traditional dynamic, and yet, a totally admirable and tangible one at most.

From a more technical and aesthetic standpoint, At World’s End is so fulfilling, it’s almost unbelievable. Although the film may be the weakest of the three in terms of execution, it is without a doubt the most visually astute. Everything from the uber-lavish cinematography to the absolutely eye popping visual effects can be described as nothing shorter than eye candy. And what satisfying candy it is! The visual effects are, quite simply, amongst the most gorgeous, realistic, spontaneous, and groundbreaking ever conceived on celluloid. Although this summer does seem grandiose in rich computer animation with the likes of Transformers and Ratoutille (which both seem just as visually breathtaking), there’s no doubt in my mind that At World’s End will be remembered come award season. Another added layer of décor for the film’s exuberant aesthetic is Hans Zimmer’s absolutely masterful score. As the film delves into a much more global, international essence (as pirates from all over the world unite to fight “at world’s end”), Zimmer perfectly resonates this them by making the score a much more diverse crescendo of esthetic within the different cultures portrayed in the film, conceiving a lovely musical composition that reflects the musical facets of Asian, African, and European culture – take my advice and keep your ears keen and tentative while watching this film.

Performance wise, there is no distinct difference in deliverance in At World’s End when compared to its predecessors. Johnny Depp has undoubtedly proven himself as the epitome in performance relishing with his role as Jack Sparrow and goes utterly wild and spontaneous with character, and yet brings nothing that can be described as substantial. In my opinion, the more intriguing performance comes from Bill Nigh and his turn as the villainous Davy Jones. Nigh, while entertaining in his role as the story’s definitive antagonist, also garners this wintry sense of mysterious, and, after discovering the back story behind the character, curious sympathy, which resonate the true theme of the film. Because if one looks closely enough at each of the Pirates film, one can see that for each film there lies a central, underlying theme. While the first chapter could be seen as a genuine tale of the primordial and bonds of friendship, and the second entry can be timidly seen as a tale of departure and betrayal, this third installment evokes one universal theme: love. Although it may seem a bit cheesy, the theme of love is certainly what unites each of the character’s storylines and it may just be what the franchise is all about. But with At World’s End, it certainly works a true gist in the plot, whether it’s in Will’s courageous pursuit for his father’s freedom, Elizabeth’s love and patience for Will that drive her to the full-fledged bonds of loyalty, Jack’s unsuspected love for his lifestyle, ship, and crew that may just lead to his redemption, or Davy Jones’s spiritual corruption by the failure that his love brought, everything is highlighted by that underlying theme.

All in all, At World’s End, while an enormous visual spectacle and technical achievement, is a blockbuster with a knack to be a balanced composition of both dull and highly enjoyable qualities. Albeit the film the film fails in its attempt to bring any of the series’ aspects to a higher, newer ground, it would be ultimately fair to say that its remaining on that same level, while dull in most aspects, manages to deliver in that same sense of entertainment.

RATING: 6/10

[Potzer! 37]

COTBP-4 out of 5 (best of the three)
DMC-3.5 out of 5 (but still the one I enjoy most)
WE-3 now but probably 2.5 after a rewatch (bit of a letdown...not enough dialogue/qupis for me...to much physical comedy...Calisto was stupid...better than Spiday 3 tho....sigh)

[Monotreme]

As usual, you have written a great and encompassing review, FilmKing. And also as usual, we are in total agreement:



Gore Verbinski, 2007

I don’t think that all movies can be compared to one another. In my rating or reviewing of films, I never judge or compare to every other movie ever made – that would just be wrong. Movies need to be judged within their own circles. The most common circle is genre: comparing The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Million Dollar Baby is an impossible feat as both films are excellent within their own genres. The same applies for the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

These movies are silly. It’s not a criticism, just a fact. They are silly and goofy and light. They utilize juvenile humour, harebrained gags and far-fetched scenarios and ideas. And the films are completely dripping with clichés and kitsch, especially the third installment. But all these elements – which I would consider glaring flaws in any other film – are forgiven simply because I wouldn’t expect anything different from this genre. The key is that the trilogy never takes itself seriously. It basically announced, right off the top from the first film, that it would be a silly, light, wacky, action-packed action-adventure-comedy. So you’re actually looking for the silliness, the lame gags, the juvenile humour. This is not a movie I would expect deep character development from, or even basic movie logic. I expect to have a swashbuckling, action-packed, light, entertaining and just plain fun and enjoyable time at the cinema when I see this – nothing more, nothing less.

In most fields, At World’s End delivers unquestionably. Unlike Spider-Man 3, which I felt was an anti-climax to the trilogy in terms of action scenes, At World’s End contains action scenes and set pieces that completely dwarf those in the first two installments. The final showdown is worth the admission price alone. Because of the film’s nature and edifice, which may be the loosest and broadest of any film, the creative team can essentially do whatever comes to their tremendously creative minds – in all the fields. Indeed just thinking of and constructing these set pieces requires an immense sense of creativity and a complete disregard of logic or physics.

In actuality, the Pirates of the Caribbean films are a dream come true for the creative fields of filmmaking. Production designers and costume designers essentially have total and utter freedom; because the film is set in a pseudo-fantasy period setting, they basically can design whatever wacky ideas come to mind. Indeed the production and costume design in this film is second to none, completely incomparable and totally unconventional, but looks absolutely fantastic and is wildly creative. The designs of the Singapore city and especially of the Shipwreck Cove construct – entirely made of wrecked ships all stacked and piled up into these massive towers – are astonishing and dazzling. The same can be said of the costume design, which is just fantastic and incredibly imaginative.

The film is also a complete masterwork in the technical fields, especially in the special effects sphere. The filmmakers spared no expense and hired the best effects team Industrial Light & Magic had to offer – and the result is more than obvious on screen. The practical and model effects are almost as impressive as the mind-blowing, completely unbelievable CGI work, which just looks completely realistic, absolutely convincing and is integrated perfectly into the actual footage more so than any other movie of this type in recent years. Even Spider-Man 3 had some dodgy and unconvincing CGI work – Sony’s mistake was insisting on creating their own effects instead of hiring an external (and more experienced and professional) company to deliver the high-expectation goods. Well, At World’s End more than delivers in this department, so much so that the effects that were so mind-blowing in the second installment, Dead Man’s Chest (namely the fish-pirates and Davey Jones himself) are almost taken for granted in this film. If you think about it, these creations are nothing short of astonishing, but they’re just so convincing and realistic, you don’t even think about it. And that is the biggest and primary sign of good CGI work.

The movie also features some extremely creative story ideas. Everything that has to do with the logistics and fantastic elements of the shores of World’s End is extremely creative – and completely bizarre at that. And I love all the fantasy/mythological elements of Davy Jones, Calypso, Tia Dalma and all these things: I think that it’s all fantastically creative and very well thought-out. That said, the film has one glaring flaw that really hampers the entire experience: the script. This is the usual result of starting to shoot a movie without a finished script, but the story just feels and unfolds as if it were made up as they went along, instead of actually planned ahead of time – even more so than Dead Man’s Chest, which also suffered from this problem. But At World’s End is so confusing and awkward, it makes the plot in Dead Man’s Chest seem actually quite logical and clear. The film essentially has one basic story element: the pirates of the world are facing extinction and band together for one final showdown against the armada of the East India Trading Company. The problem is that everything leading up to this showdown is so unbelievably confusing; it’s surprising to learn that only two screenwriters worked on the script. I didn’t even bother trying to follow after a while, but I’m sure that if I had I would notice glaringly wide plot holes, and that most of the characters’ motives have absolutely no continuity whatsoever. For instance – considering the new information we discover about Tia Dalma in At World’s End, one begins to wonder why, at the end of Dead Man’s Chest, she volunteered to help the gang rescue Jack Sparrow in the first place? Indeed this is a major problem in the film, not only because it’s absolutely impossible to follow or understand just what is going on at any given moment, but also because it is so unbelievably easy to create a story that makes sense. They managed to do so in the first film, and I think that a little more ironing on the creases in this screenplay and they could have reached something truly excellent. Because the general concept is great; it’s just everything in-between that makes no sense whatsoever.

Despite this, the film does have some moments where it truly shines, and one scene in particular involving a certain cameo everyone had been talking about since the first film is worth all the confusion that is the film’s plot and the frustration in trying to understand it and organize it in your head. Combine these immaculate scenes with the great set pieces, action sequences and amazing technical and creative work, and one is almost ready to forgive the total travesty that is the script. Almost.

RATING: 6/10.

[Cronos]

my main problem with At World's End is that it really was too damn long, there was probably around 40 minutes where i was just hoping something would happen or it would just end, really dragged on at that point. i didnt find the plot confusing though, i really liked some of the ideas and the action scenes were excellent. acting wise, my only real problem was with Knightly, i've never been impressed with her acting. Depp was excellent as ever, Chow Yun-Fat was criminally underused though, i was hoping to see him a lot more in this

8/10 (could go either way on a re-watch)

[kubotakhan01]

Pirates 3 was only alright. I anjoyed some of the scenes while others were too long and drawn out, leaving me yawning despite all the action that was occuring on screen. After seeeing DEAD MANS CHEST( which is the best of the 3 movies) I thought I was going to be blown away by Pirates 3. nope. Johnny depp's (newly legendary) character took a backseat to all of the other (less important) characters in the film. noone cares about them. people go to see these movies to see Jack Sparrow. Nothing else. I could have cared less about Orlando Bloom(Who out of the blue is starting to annoy me) and Keira Knightley(Who is suddenly steaming hot to me) looks completely ridiculous in that chinese get up. The movie was alright, but I cant say I wasnt disappointed.

** out of 4 stars

[ilovemovies]

I loved this movie. Loved it. Didn't expect to love the movie this much. As pure movie making spectacle, it's tough to beat this movie. Infact, this movie may be one of the most spectacular movies I have ever seen. Some of the images are incredible. Even majestic at times. Not only that but it's even quite imaginitive and inventive. I was really surprised by how creative the movie. Take for instance the scene where in order for the black pearl and her crew to get back to the real world after Jack Sparrow, they have to get the ship to go upside down in the water. It's a wonderfully realized and incredibly inventive scene.

I loved this movie because of how epic it feels. The movie may be close to three hours long, but it's never boring and always entertaining and sometimes it's even truly thrilling and exhilarating. The climatic showdown between the pirates and Beckett's people is truly a sight to behold. The movie isn't as predictable as you'd think either. The fate of some of the characters actually surprised me. There is surprising poignancy to the movie.

This is probably Johnny Depp's most popular role. To be honest, I've found his performances in the first two to be a bit overpraised. He was okay but hardly great in them. Here however, he really gets to shine. And he's funnier than he has been in the previous Pirates movies. Geoffry Rush played the bad guy in the first film. Now he's one of the good guys. It's suits him well. Some of the best and funniest scenes in the movie involve the byplay between him and Depp. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are both wonderful here. Bloom in particular gets to shine in a way he never really got to in the previous Pirates movie. Bill Nighey returns as Davy Jones and he's much better here than he was in Dead Man's Chest. I never really found him that threatening in Dead Man's Chest. But he's a good villian here. Tom Hollander is suitably nasty as Lord Beckett. Chow Yun Fat is wasted in a role that amounts to little more than an extended cameo. Rounding out the cast is the wonderful Stellan Skarsgaard as Will's father.

If I had to nitpick, there are probably a few too many double crosses for the movie's good. It's a little confusing at times. The movie also might have benefited a little if Bloom and Knightley had more screen time together. It would have made the ending that much more potent.

Overall though, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a splendidly entertaining epic adventure. Thrilling and exciting that unlike so many movies it actually FEELS epic. It's far and away the best of the Pirates movies and it does leave room for the posibility of a sequel. And for a change, I actually would welcome that. I didn't think that after the last Pirates movie. As pure movie spectacles go, this is one terrific ride and I really doubt any movie this summer will be able to beat it.

8/10