PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
(PG-13)
MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
STARRING
Johnny Depp as JACK SPARROW
Geoffrey Rush as CAPTAIN BARBOSSA
Orlando Bloom as WILL TURNER
Keira Knightley as ELIZABETH SWANN
Jack Davenport as NORRINGTON
Bill Nighy as DAVY JONES
Jonathan Pryce as GOVERNOR WEATHERBY SWANN
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Studio: Disney
BY KEVIN CARR
Any fan of the “Ask a Ninja” segments on the Internet will understand the frustrations of many with “Pirate of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” It’s not that the first film was a simple little art-house flick, but in retrospect, it’s downright puny compared to its subsequent sequels. And while “At World’s End” wasn’t the best of the bunch, it was certainly the biggest.
But that doesn’t mean it was all bad. As epic summer movies go, “At World’s End” was pretty good. Like many other films I’ve seen of late (such as “The Golden Compass”), this film is better enjoyed by just finding yourself in awe of the special effects and action. Don’t try to make sense of anything, or you may suffer an aneurysm.
“At World’s End” wraps up most of the storylines we saw in the first two films, and creates a few more of its own. The beginning of the film shows the crew of the Black Pearl trying to rescue Jack Sparrow from the netherworld, and the rest of the film has them trying to defeat the octopoid Davy Jones and the dastardly ruler of the East India Trading Company.
The DVD release is as big as the movie’s production. Available in the 2-disc limited edition, there’s an entire second disc devoted to bonus features. The most interesting features include the behind-the-scenes elements of the film, which explore the wizardry behind everything from the maelstrom sequence to the nightmare sequences of Captain Jack.
Other features include a spotlight on Keith Richards, bloopers, two deleted scenes, a doco on production design, a nod to Chow Yun-Fat, the music of Hans Zimmer, the story behind the pirate song and a run-down of the different pirate lords.
Director Gore Verbinski has made it clear in the press that he has no intention on doing a fourth film, which is probably a good thing for him. If there were to be a new movie, it should have a different visions, much like the “Harry Potter” and “Mission: Impossible” flicks have done. I’d like to see what happens to Captain Jack, but I’m not willing to sit through a four-hour monstrosity with 87 subplots to do this.