My whole family loved the first Pirate movies and we recently ordered the Pirates 3 on pay per view to fill up xmas vacation time.
I have found it to be very hard to find movies that a family can watch and enjoy together, with everyone getting something out of it. We are careful to not allow a lot of crud in our house which I view as my parental job; but that also limits movies down to just about nothing. Movies are always too kid like, boring for older kids and adults or not fit for kids to watch or understand. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is an exception.
My kids range from 10-16 and they all enjoyed Pirates 3. I think they have watched it three times now. My 16 year old daughter has a major pirate fetish and it is great fun to talk about Johnny Depp from *the old days* of the 1980's with her. The Pirate movies are something we can all share and enjoy.
The movie does not disappoint in special effects, action, pirate yumminess or acting ability. The movie does push three hours in length; which can be a tad too long for some kids. The storyline does jump around a bit; which is the only reasons I am giving it a 4 star rating instead of a 5. Parents may have to explain a little to kids...especially since they may not be able to understand the character voices, Otherwise the movie, as the first two, is loads of swashbucking fun.
If you do not have kids and just love Johnny, Orlando, pirates, special effects, etc...you should also enjoy this movie.Read full review
"A short drop and a sudden stop," of course, refers to a hanging. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" shows that the "Pirates" dynasty is coming to an end. I struggled with writing this review for three weeks because part of me wanted to love this film and another part of me is just growing tired of all the constant twists, turns, backstabbings, and double-crosses. This time around, Captain Jack Sparrow has wound up in Davey Jones' Locker through a series of events from "Dead Man's Chest." His old friends (or enemies, depending on how you see it) have decided to retrieve him for their own individual reasons. Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Captain Barbossa, and even the voodoo queen from "Chest" combine forces with the crew of the now lost Black Pearl and Chinese pirates in order to get Jack back. To tell you their individual motives would take forever, so just know that "World's End" is a lot like "Dead Man's Chest" in that nobody can trust anybody else and everybody is out to get everybody else....but on a larger scale.
Johnny Depp is in top form as Sparrow once again, although an extended trip through the Locker gets rather boring. Geoffrey Rush who, in my opinion, is the most piratical of the bunch and the most fun to watch, spends a lot of time squabbling with Sparrow over who's the real captain. Keira Knightley gets a larger, yet uninspiring role this time around as Elizabeth Swann gets more involved in pirate affairs. Orlando Bloom's portrayal of Will Turner has become somewhat sinister when compared to the other films, and I honestly came away from the film disliking the character a bit. Gibbs, Pintel, the monkey, and the rest of the gang are also back, and are more than adequate for their slightly expanded roles. Gibbs is especially fun to watch on the screen. Norrington and the nasty gang from East India Tea Company are also on board. Chow Yun Fat appears as a new character, the honorable pirate captain, Feng. He does well with the limited screen time he's given, but with so many other characters aboard this flick and so many plotlines, I felt that he got lost in the chaos.
With all of that said, there was still quite a bit to enjoy. The special effects were pretty good. The only bad spot involves Calypso and, for spoiling the plot's sake, I won't go into any detail about the matter. Plenty of action can be found on land and sea (and even in the afterworld). There's still a lot of humor in this film, but it takes itself way too seriously to be fully enjoyed as a comedy.
In summary I'd have to say that if you enjoyed the first two films, you're sure to like this one. It does get bogged down by multiple plotlines and suffers from a long running time, but so did the second film. I give it three-and-a-half stars, but round up due to the wonderful first film.Read full review
Overall, a very good movie. The special effects were amazing. The story proceeds at a break-neck pace. Pay attention! The plot-line can be hard to follow, sometimes. Relationships between the characters could have been better defined. The Elizabeth character (Keira Knightley)has become a super pirate with world-class fencing skills and WWE fighting talent. She seems to weight about 80 pounds, making this not very believable (she probably couldn't even lift a real sword), and adds nothing to the movie. Bill Nighy has continued his outstanding potrayal of Davy Jones, a monster at once frightening and sympathetic, entirely under a CGI mask by the way. At 2 hrs. 48 min., this could have easily had 20 or 30 minutes cut out, making it more watchable. I would recommend this to any science fiction, fantasy, adventure fan.Read full review
I bought this to finish out my collection of Pirates of the Caribbean films as someone made off with my other copy of this one. The movie itself, I thought, was a fun fantasy with just enought twists to keep it interesting. Even the over-acting of Johnny Depp was tolerable as it became a part the character in the first two. I doubt there will be another in the series but if there is, I'm sure I'll be getting it also. I played as nearly as well at home as on the theater screen (with proper home equipment of course.) It was a nice escape for an evening as every viewing offers something new that was missed during the last screening. Watch for interesting things in the backgrounds, I like to pay attention to the details and guage the authenticity to the scenes. Disney does that very well, especially with the CGI.Read full review
The 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed right after the 2nd.
This movie shows it. The crew seems tired, the plot as well. Maybe everybody was just fed up with playing pirates? Depp is scarcely better than the untalented Orlando Bloom & they could have left Elizabeth (keira knightly, no caps intended) completely out & maybe had a better go of it.
'Tis another wild ride, which in reality would have taken years maybe, from the tropics to the frozen arctic, or is anarctic? , as we pick up what happened since we last saw Jack swallowed whole & pulled into the briny deep in the clutches of Davy Jones' pet kraken. In Pirates 3 , alas, we behold the last , or maybe not, battles between the freedom-loving pirates & their pirate allies against their nemeses from the East India Company, but we are also forced to follow along with the final resolution (we can hope) of the tired & dreary romance between Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner. Talk about overdone!
Back from Davy Jones' Locker, by way of magic, & crabs, Jack joins the old gang for another go at Davy Jones & the crew of the Flying Dutchman. Bloom is out to save his dad, Depp is in it for immortality, we see that even an octopus-faced Jones has a heart (pun intended) & can (gasp!) love, Bloom STILL has NO personality at all, & the rest is rather iffy.
Keith Richards is totally Keith Richards in his not quite 2 minutes on screen, as Jack's DAD????? The scenes from the great pirate meeting are for visual effect only, maybe a stab at the Oscar for costumes? Richards' character & Barbosa's (played well as usual by Geoffrey Arrrrgggh Rush) are the 2 best, & the bad guy, Lord Beckett (well-acted by Tom Hollander), but even they can't save Pirate's 3.
Chow Yun-Fat, from The Last Samurai & Anna & the King, is regal as usual, but the role is beneath him & it shows. As Sao Feng, the pirate lord of Singapore he is believable, but the writers seem to have downplayed his acting ability & focused more on knightley's convincing him to go save Will, or is it Jack, or maybe it's...who knows?
I still say Bill Nighy (playing Davy Jones) is Jack Palance in disguise! I mean , look at that face! He does okay as compared to several others who just seem to drag about.
In short, too much visual, WAY too much visual, but the awesome terrifying whirlpool scenes are new, yet too much chaos, too many cliches, too much keira, too little rhyme or reason. Definitely Pirates 3 was made just for the M-O-N-E-Y. Of course, Depp is sooooo cute...
One thing some found out by watching the credits end, there is MORE of the Bloom/knightley affair. Blahhh!
I want my $$$ back!Read full review