Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Movie Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Starring: Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Chow Yun-Fat, Bill Nighy, Jonnathan Pryce, Jack Davenport, Naomi Harris and Stellan Skarsgård.
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
My rating: 8.5/10

What a great movie, a true relief after relatively disappointing part-3's of Spider-man and Shrek so far this summer. Let me warn you that the approach was, once again, different that than of it's predecessors. The comical content got reduced even more this time, even though everyone's favorite Jack Sparrow manages to offer a laugh at regular interviews.

Johnny Depp stole the show once again even though his wasn't completely the lead character in this movie. Character development was exceptional in this movie, and I'll elaborate on that bit below.

The story continues with Elizabeth (Knightley) and Will (Bloom) searching for Jack Sparrow (Depp) with the help of Singaporean pirate Sao Feng (Yun-Fat) and former enemy Captain Barbossa (Rush) and the sorceress Tia Dalma (Harris). Of course, every one of these have a hidden agenda as far as rescuing Jack goes. Elizabeth has the guilt of trapping him in the last movie, Will wants to bring his monstrous father back to life, Barbossa wants his ship (Black Pearl) and I'll leave the other 2's secrets off here before I could spoil it all. Davey Jones is still around, so are his tentacles, locked-up heart (both ways) and sea-monster crew. Just weaker and more controlled by the East India Company. Pirates all over the world are facing a possible extinction with the British Empire expanding above the speed limit and giving all support to the E.I.C.. This gives incentive to all the remaining pirates to join together and fight the imperials. Interesting costumes and well researched characters of pirates from India, Africa, Portugal, China etc. add delight to the movie.

The acting and special effects were spectacular this time again. Depp may not get another Oscar nomination for portraying the lone drunken pirate, but definitely gets an applause for the same. Orlando Bloom has matured significantly and his character of Will Turner is much darker and deeper. Kiera Knightley looks beautiful just like her performance as Elizabeth Swan. Geoffrey Rush and Bill Nighy showed their experience and maturity in their roles, and the pirate crew is lovable, as usual. Chow Yun-Fat made his presence felt, and like I mentioned in an earlier review, he does have potential to play a great baddie! Naomi Harris adds strength to her character of Tia Dalma, and does a decent job for a lesser known actress. Past romances are always a good way to keep a sequel going ;-)

I was actually glad that the romantic angle wasn't dragged this time. More action, less talk and wonders galore highlighted this feature. Only downsides may be that it spans over two hours, mercilessly sheds a lot of blood, It was a great way to (if they are) end the trilogy. Rumors say there may be more Pirate movies. I don't see Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley returning if there are any.

I give this movie an 8.5/10. It isn't as grand as Curse of the Black Pearl but at least it has a definite ending for a movie. The start may make some weak hearts sob. Glad I had a pretzel to munch half-way through the movie.

Do stay past the end credits. And enjoy!