Pirates of the Caribbean, He Said

If you saw Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest you will see what is suppose to be the conclusion to the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, At Worlds End . While most of us loved the first film in the series, Dead Man's Chest was a disappointment, so the opening of At Worlds End was greeted with a great deal of scrutiny. Maybe the third time is the charm, but this version of Pirates of the Caribbean (POC), left me breathless. And that's saying a lot when you consider that if you see this film from start to finish, you've invested 168 minutes of your life.

There is no doubt that even though Kira Knightly, Orlando Bloom, and Geoffrey Rush add mightily to this saga, it is Johnny Depp that literally steals the show. His facial makeup, flamboyantly overdone Pirate costume and devil may care attitude are so close to over the top that Depp has to walk a care full line so as not to let the character slide into the realm of the ridiculous. He succeeds with plenty to spare.

Playing Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp is the strong north pull in the compass that guides Kira Knightly's character as she is forced to choose between the man her father has chosen for her, the man she wants to love and the man that intrigues and tempts her. Captain Jack Sparrow is that charmingly naughty boy that, when he is around, fathers worry for the virtue of their wives as well as their daughters.

This fantasy tale pits the image of the pirates being the Robin Hood type good guys as they battle for independence and fairness against the corrupt British Government forces who seek to dominate the world in the name of the trading companies (As if any legitimate government would sell out to commercial interests, but than good fantasy is the process of suspending disbelief.)

I'm in awe of great bad guys and in many ways POC has some of the best. Tom Hollander as the sleaze and greasy but suave military brute Beckett, who plays Javer to Will Turner's, played by Orlando Bloom, Valjean in one of the trilogy sub plots, is good a bad guy as you'll find. And than there is the Bill Nighy as the tentacle faced Davey Jones.

The theme of this series, brought to a crescendo in the finale, is the constantly changing alliances among the principles, (You might want to keep score.) The special effects are grand and they do fit into the context of the story. The ending is well crafted and believable, while surprising. All in all, this final film in the trilogy is a good film on it's own and that might be the best test.