As you may recall, when last we left our happy band of pirates, things were not so happy. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) had been swallowed up by Davy Jones’ monster, along with the Black Pearl. He’d been consigned to that fate by the lovely Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), and did we detect some romance there? Hopefully not for the sake of Will Parker (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth’s childhood love. Although, Will has his own problems to worry about, what with his father, Bootstrap Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgård), still being in thrall to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and Will sworn to save him.
Beyond those personal dramas, the rest of the pirates have to be worried about being put out of business and, worse still, hanged, by the East India Company. The company now rules the seas by virtue of having been given Davy Jones heart, delivered to them by the now-redeemed James Norrington (Jack Davenport), who’s gone from drunken wretch in Pirates 2 to admiral status in this film. The truly evil Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) is still running things there, and his ruthlessness makes the pirates look like the nice guys.
The first third of At World’s End focuses on Captain Jack’s experiences/hallucinations in Davy Jones’ locker, and the crew’s journey to rescue him. They sail off in a pirate junk borrowed from Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), head pirate in Singapore. They’re led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), himself back from the dead. Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) is also along for the ride, and she may know much more than it appears.
Once Jack’s back, it’s time to convene all the pirates and join forces to take on Beckett. But, who’s trustworthy? Who’s in league with Beckett, and why? Who or what is Calypso, and what does she have to do with Davy Jones? Who will Elizabeth end up with? Why are there still so many questions in the third part of a series?
At World’s End is by far the most confusing and convoluted of the three parts of the Pirates saga. It’s got some great moments, including a very touching scene between Tia Dalma and Davy Jones, and a great sequence with Keith Richards as Captain Teague, keeper of the Pirate Code and, as it turns out, Captain Jack’s father. There are also some terrific special effects, particularly during the battle between Jack et al on the Black Pearl and Davy Jones’ crew on the Flying Dutchman. (To keep things interesting, that fight takes place during a fierce maelstrom.)
What is it about the third parts of trilogies and their multiple endings? Like the third part of the Lord of the Rings saga, At World’s End seems to end several times, and each of those is a bit dissatisfying. If you like the Pirates series for the love story between Elizabeth and Will, it gets resolved … sort of. If you wonder what Jack will do next, you’ll find out … sort of. And if you’re musing over what’s on the horizon for the Black Pearl and her crew, well, maybe you know what they’re up to … maybe.
Most of the cast from Pirates 1 and 2 is back, with the notable addition of Chow Yun-Fat and some others of his crew. Depp’s Sparrow is still very entertaining, although he loses some of his hilarity by virtue of being familiar now. Knightley gets more to do in this one, and seems to be enjoying herself. Bloom is under-used, although he gets some good stuff at the end. Rush snarls his way through Barbossa nicely, and Richards is just a hoot.
The special effects are a real star in this installment of the series, and also in much of the special features material. There’s a making-of an the maelstrom, and it really is fascinating to see how that was put together, and particularly to learn more about director Gore Verbinski’s approach to making things as realistic as possible. Another featurette explains how an early scene featuring multiple Jack Sparrows was put together. I especially enjoyed a series called “Masters of Design – Creating the Pirates’ World.” It features five vignettes highlighting different people involved behind the scenes and what they contributed to the project.
Other featurettes focus on Chow Yun-Fat (apparently with the assumption that we won’t know who he is otherwise), how the pirate song that figures throughout the film was developed, and composer Hans Zimmer’s general approach to writing the music. There’s also a fun little piece giving background on each of the pirate lords involved in the Brethren Court. There’s a short, reasonably funny, blooper reel, and two deleted scenes. (Lest we forget, Pirates 3 was shot pretty much simultaneously with Pirates 2; when you’re that tightly planned and scripted, not much is going to end up not being used.) And, there’s a short discussion with Depp and Richards. This is a solid set of special features, several of which really add to your appreciation for the film. (I admit it – now that I have an idea of how much work it was to do, I see it as being better than I first thought.)
On the technical side, the sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. There are Spanish language track and Spanish subtitle options as well as closed captioning. Zimmer’s orchestrations are sweeping and add tremendously to the film, as they did in the first two parts.
At the World’s End really can’t stand on it’s own; if you haven’t seen the first two Pirates films, you need to watch those before you see this one. But, if you did see those, I do think At the World’s End is worth watching. For all the questions left (and new ones posed), there is some resolution. The action’s sweeping, the performances are just fine, and there are plenty of laughs as well. Yo, ho, a pirate’s life for me!