Movie Review - POTC: At World's End

Wow, does Disney know how to make an amusement park ride or what? Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End certainly isn't going to make anyone forget about true greats like Citizen Kane, but it's certainly one hell of a good time.

And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. Let's be honest. For the $10.50 you are paying to see a film now, it had better capture your imagination and transport you to another place and/or time. Even a serious movie had better do that; it doesn't matter how important a film is or how valuable the message is, if it's boring then it's not worth my hard-earned dollars. I loved Children of Men and Pan's Labrinyth, two of the best films I've seen in years (that aren't LOTR). And both of them were pretty serious movies. But they both transport the audience to another world, another time. You forget that you've been sitting on your butt snarking popcorn and sucking soda for two hours because your mind is no longer in the theatre, it's in the world presented by the film makers.

POTC: At World's End did that for me. I know the film is over 2 hours and 40 minutes long, but it really didn't feel that way. I got on the ride and enjoyed it while it lasted. It's big, it's fun, it's loud, it's fantasy, it's the sort of pirate every little boy wishes they could be.

It's not a perfect movie. As pretty as she is, Kiera Knightly has never really been able to sell herself as Elizabeth Swan. She's just never been convincing. That awful line in The Curse of the Black Pearl, something like "he's not a blacksmith, he's a pirate" was the most painful part of that film. Her speech to rouse the troops before the big battle sounded rehearsed and too practiced and not enough convincing.

Which does go back to the script. It does have it's rough spots and it seems they cluster around the Swan character. It's like they need the strong female, but they don't really know how to write her. Add in elements left hanging by the script, such as what happened to Tia Dalma/Calypso after growing 100-ft and creating a massive whirlpool? Wasn't she bothered by what happened to Davy Jones?

But overall, this is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. Geoffrey Rush, Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy all do an amazing job; sometimes perhaps too well for the rest of the cast. The effects are incredible and the film has a certain epic wierdness that I think Terry Gilliam would be almost jealous of.

Be warned; the film does have more than it's share of twists and turns. If you aren't paying attention, if you forget that all the characters have their own personal motivations, if you have an extra-long bathroom break, you may end up slightly confused. But if you are reading this, then that probably doesn't apply to you.

All told, I'd give this an A- just for much fun it is.