Out on DVD Tuesday and once again starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom
and Keira Knightley, director Gore Verbinski’s crazy threquel, “Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World’s End,” delivers on its promises – concluding most of the
plot’s loose threads – but it takes a while to get there.
No wonder. With so many dangling storylines, one contemplates how skilled
writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio (“Shrek”) even brought the story to a satisfying
resolution. Somehow they did it, but the ensuing confusion – who betrays who
and why – almost certainly requires a second viewing to understand.
Though they appear onscreen for a little while, many characters are underused.
Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) is wasted, as is actor Jack Davenport’s Admiral
Norrington. Naomie Harris (“28 Days Later”) returns as the voodoo woman, Tia
Dalma, who is given a bigger role (literally), but the return of Geoffrey Rush as
Captain Hector Barbossa is the most welcome homecoming. His pirate-y mannerisms
and fast-paced dialogue are, along with Depp’s brilliant Captain Jack Sparrow, what
made the first film such a treat.
The special effects are top notch once again; where else will you see a ship clad
in all black sails rising and falling on giant waves of sand? And when Lord Cutler
Beckett descends in slow motion onto the deck of a ship as it’s being completely
destroyed, the audience is wowed – even if the scene doesn’t make much sense.
Credit should, once again, be given to writers Elliot and Rossio for taking
something so one dimensional – a Disney theme-park ride – and turning it into
full-blown pirate mythology filled with interesting characters and loaded to the
brim with plot.
Summer fare usually consists of zero story and plenty of effects. “Pirates” is
the rare action franchise that attempts to handle too much narrative. Would I
rather have a comfortable median? Yes. But I would take too much story over
not enough any day.
Grade: 4 bottles of rum out of 5