Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Movie reviews: Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End

My introduction to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies came around 4 years ago, when I bought the first film, Curse of the Black Pearl, for a fairly low price. I thought it sounded OK, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. From the opening scenes, I was hooked, and I will still happily say there is no film that I have seen during the last decade which has caused me to grin all the way through quite like I did that first viewing of Curse of the Black Pearl.So as the following two instalments were released, I was eager to see them. The second film, Dead Man's Chest, was slated by critics, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it didn't match the first. And now I'm going to give you my full opinion on the third film, At World's End...

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released in mid-2007. At the time it was meant to be the final part of a trilogy, but it has since been revealed that a fourth film, On Stranger Tides, will be released in 2011. At World's End continues the story of the first two films. Apologies for anyone who hasn't seen them, but I may reveal some plot details from them.

Captain Jack Sparrow is stuck in Davy Jones Locker along with the Black Pearl, and appears to have become even madder than he was. Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner have joined forces with Captain Barbossa to travel to Singapore to visit Captain Sao Feng, and take the first steps to uniting the pirate brethren to stop the East India Company's rule of the seas - their seas. As for Davy Jones, he's not a happy bunny at all - Lord Beckett has his heart and therefore controls him and his ship, the Flying Dutchman.

For me, the things that made me love the first Pirates film so much were Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, and the all-permeating sense of FUN that the film had. Everything was swashbuckling adventure, slapstick or just plain ridiculous. Add that overall feeling to Depp's frankly brilliant portrayal of the "is-he-mad-or-is-he-drunk" Sparrow, and you had a winning formula.

At World's End is a little more serious than Curse of the Black Pearl was, and it opens with a very moving scene, where hundreds of people believed to be or have associated with gallows are being hanged. They begin singing a pirate song called Hoist The Colours, started by a small boy, and at first it is very sad but soon it becomes quite stirring. This is a rather serious opening to what should be a fun film, but the fun soon comes when we move to Singapore, where Elizabeth, Will and Barbossa

are accompanied by their idiot crew, who provide a lot of humour.

Our first sighting of Captain Jack in this film is of his nose. In close up. Sniffing. He is in Davy Jones Locker, and is feasting on a peanut. It soon becomes apparent that he is madder than we previously though (possibly down to his sojourn in the Locker), as not only is he speaking to himself but seeing himself - numerous times. One Captain Jack is funny and mad enough - imagine ten! For his first few scenes, Depp is alone and as we see so many Captain Jacks, he must have acted this scene many many times from different Jacks as it were. Yet he carries it off brilliantly - he doesn't need anyone else onscreen to deliver a top notch performance.

Once Captain Jack reunites with his friends and crew, the fun really starts. It wasn't quite so grin-all-the-way-through as Curse of the Black Pearl was, but it is still a good fun film. The characters are slightly ridiculous, the story is fantastical, but it is all fun.

Much was made when the Pirates series started of Depp basing his performance of Captain Jack on Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Once he said this, everyone immediately though "ah yes that's why he seems familiar". In At World's End, this was taken a step further with Richards making a cameo appearance as Captain Sparrow Snr. Quite frankly, the role was surplus to the story - there was absolutely no need for it. Someone, somewhere (possibly Depp) just wanted to get Richards into the film. And he performed it fine. But having heard about the cameo beforehand, when Richards appeared I sat up in my chair, thinking this was going to be great. But aside from a family joke at the end of his appearance (Captain Jack asks after his mother and gets a bit of a fright), it really was very anticlimactic. Richard's character comes in at a pivotal point in the story, and does in fact give some important information (although it could have come from anyone onscreen), but there is absolutely no explanation given in terms of the story for his presence there. We don't even know for sure that he is Captain Jack's father until Jack asks "How's mum?" Without meaning to detract from Richards himself, I think this was a case of a director trying to be too clever for his own good.

In terms of special effects, At World's End in my opinion surpasses both the first two Pirates films. It does have a lot more to work with, given that the main battle is fought in a maelstrom, but I thought it all looked fantastic.

The weather and sea conditions all looked absolutely real, as did the characters which involved some effects, Davy Jones being one.

Right from the start I've loved the original music of Pirates of the Caribbean, and At World's End does not disappoint. The same favourite and recognisable refrains are present but with new twists and melodies added in. More memorable in At World's End is the repetition of Hoist The Colours, an original song composed for the film which tell the story of the first court of the Pirate Brethren. Depending on how it is used, the melody can sound sad, stirring or menacing.

I was very glad when I heard there would be a fourth Pirates film, because I found the ending of At World's End odd. Given that these are Disney family films, the ending is actually very brave - because it isn't a happy ending. It's not exactly sad either though, it's an ending that stays with you and makes you keep thinking about whether it was good or bad. But when I watched this film, I thought that was it for the Pirates series, so I was a little thrown by how it ended. I do however like things to be tied up more neatly than they are at the end of At World's End - although it could easily be left there - so I'm glad there will be more to the story.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a great film, but doesn't quite match the brilliance of Curse of the Black Pearl. I would however say it is better than Dead Man's Chest. If you fancy watching this, start from the beginning and watch the three films in order. The story runs through all three so I think someone coming in on the second or third film would be a little lost.