Arrrrr....Arrrrrgggghhhhh!

Despite warnings from several national critics, whom I barely trust, and the more substantial warnings of people I know, I decided to go check out the third installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that overall I enjoyed the experience, but then again, nothing helps out your opinion of a film more than expecting it to be absolutely awful.

It really wasn't that bad. There were a lot of lines and physical moments that made me laugh, and there were some gorgeous effects that I didn't feel dragged on as some had criticized; however, the plot and character progression were terrible...just terrible. It wasn't that it was hard to follow, and with so much logic tossed out the window the viewer eventually just accepts a "que sera, sera" attitude about the whole story. What really makes the film difficult are the motives that are driving characters. The scene that defines the film for me was one where five or six major characters were all pointing guns at each other and I realized that I had no real idea why each of these characters would want to shoot one another. I don't know who Jack Sparrow really likes or dislikes, I don't know what criteria Will Turner uses to decide who to cross or double cross, and I can't tell if Elizabeth Swann is in love with anybody. Plus, just when I think that the characters are calming down a bit, there is a plot line introduced surrounding Davy Jones and his former love that was an absolute waste of 30 minutes on film (and frankly if this film were 30 minutes shorter I think most viewers would be just as happy).

I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but in the same way that the new Star Wars episodes couldn't recapture magic onscreen, At World's End represents the final transformation from The Black Pearl, which was a favorite summer film for me, to a carcass no less bloated or insignificant than the beached Kraken...a still somewhat visually impressive shell of what used to be great.

Same to same,

Capt. Patrick Hendry