Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Directed by: Gore Verbinski

Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer

Written by: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio

Year: 2007

Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Chow Yun-Fat

Yo Ho Yo Ho We changed the melody.

Captain Jack Sparrow is dead and our surviving heroes are in limbo, soon to be literally. We all know that Sparrow will be rescued, because after all, the highly charismatic Sparrow played by yours truly's favorite actor Johnny Depp, made the first two movies. And the producers know that. So our surviving heroes travel to the end of the world to bring him back.

In addition, the law and order folks want to stamp out piracy so they could turn the world into profits for their corporation. Remind you of anyone?

We get to see the Golden Age of Piracy romanticized as freedom fighters against a shrinking world, instead of what they really were - a bunch of drunks in need of money for their next drink. It's all good though, because the Romantic genre needs some fire in an increasingly cynical world. That's why these movies are so successful. They do what they do well, the world is fun, looks real, and there are even a few good laughs.

For a Disney flick, you see an enormous amount of death and some really twisted humor. What I didn't like were the excesses. They try to do every cinematic trick in the book in one movie, and had so many plot twists that I'd imagine the average Joe sitting there perplexed and lost. I was fine, but then again, I'm a professional film critic. You may not be.

Plus, the writers took the show don't tell mantra a little bit too far. Yes, we know Sparrow is crazy. Enough already with the multiples. This isn't Duplicity. It's Pirates of the Caribbean.

Still, an enjoyable movie, and cinematicly gorgeous. Not as good as the first and about equal to the second. I'll be forgiving because I know how hard it is to capture the magic of a masterpiece like the original. If you have no desire to watch it because of its weaknesses, at least watch it for the cinematography.

Reviewed by The Zombieslayer