Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

At World’s End is the second half of Dead Man’s Chest, and in my eyes, the final film of the Pirates franchise. I thought that making On Stranger Tides was a mistake, and as such I haven’t seen it yet. At World’s End picks up more or less where Dead Man’s Chest left off, with Jack’s friends, led by Captain Barbossa, seeking to rescue him from Davy Jones’ locker.

The plot of the movie is not as strong as it could be. After Jack is rescued from the locker he gets back on his quest to stab the heart of Davy Jones and sail the seas forever. I thought it suffered from the problems that many ‘finishing films’ seem to, in that they try and fit too much into one film. What with the final battle, Davy Jones’ locker, the pirate court, the mission in Singapore, the freeing of Calypso, and everything in between with Bootstrap Bill, Davy Jones and the Cutler Beckett’s pursuit going on as well it seems like too much. Even that sentence was too long, so that should give you some idea of how dragged out it is.

In the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa is really scary. It might be something to do with his moonlight-revealing skeletal form, but he is immensely scary and makes a fitting villain to the first movie. His revelation at the end of the second movie is shocking (but is explained if you watch to the end of the credits of the first movie I think, I may be wrong), but his role in the third film seems to be very anonymous. I think that the main reason he was brought back was because to introduce another new pirate in At World’s End would be too much. His character seems to go much the same way as the Pirates films: starts off brilliantly, but by the third he doesn't seem quite the same. He is presented in many ways as being equal to Jack, and seems to be more obviously shrewd and less eccentric. He is the first to cotton on to the fact that Tia Dalma is the goddess Calypso for example, which has immense consequences for the outcome of the film.

Naomie Harris is one of those actresses that seems to pop up from time to time and I always seem to recognise her. She is so completely unrecognisable in Pirates of the Caribbean that I completely didn't connect her to 28 Days Later, and when I saw Skyfall, again didn't make the association. She shows off how good an actress she is best in Pirates of the Caribbean as she plays the heavily accented ‘mystic’ who turns out to be the goddess of the seas. Fittingly, she is also the reason that Davy Jones cut out his heart and also seems to quite like Captain Jack. Her roles in the second and third films were among the more enjoyable moments of the franchise, and I liked the way her character developed.

Chow Yun-Fat also makes an appearance as the fearsome pirate Sao-Feng, and is glittering in the role. Upon his death (sorry if I’ve given that one away) he passes his captaincy on to Elizabeth Swann, which leads to her instrumental role in the defeat of the forces pursuing the pirates. Sao-Feng is a brilliant character, and it’s a shame that he is given such a brief role in the films. The scenes in Singapore are a highlight of this film, and sees some tense moments intertwined with the humour that makes the Pirates of the Caribbean films nearly unique, and so refreshing.

Despite having an awful lot going on, the end is wonderfully spectacular and very well written. The battles between Cutler Beckett’s crew and the pirates is meant to convey a sense of life falling apart around a man who had so much, and his acceptance of it. That’s fairly obvious from watching the scene though. I thought that the battle between Captain Jack and Davy Jones was suitably epic in scale and design. The outcome of this battle has consequences for every single remaining character in the film. Jack has his life’s dream torn away from him, Elizabeth has her love torn away from her, and Will has his freedom torn away from him. It seems too obvious to say, but there is a strong sense that everything has changed at the end of the film. Best of all though is that by the end of the film it seems to have come to a natural conclusion.

As with Dead Man’s Chest, there is no way that At World’s End lives up to The Curse of theBlack Pearl, but it doesn't fall too far short. If you've watched the first and second films then you should watch the third. If you start with the third film then you won’t get a lot of the in-jokes, the character quirks and the general references to the previous films. A lot of people have been very critical of it, but as with the other Pirates of the Caribbean films, I enjoyed it, and that’s enough reason to watch this one.