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

Since I've covered this ground multiple times, let me get this out of the way quickly:

Yes, this movie is waaaaay....tooooo....loooong. With a running time of 2 hours and 47 minutes, a full 45-60 minutes could/should have been trimmed from the film. I could write a separate post detailing which minutes those should be (if I had fancy editing software, I'd be tempted to make my own "director's cut" and sell it - I could make millions, to be sure), but I'll spare you. You get the picture - it's bloated.

Now, going into the theater with that already firmly ingrained into my mind probably helped the rating it will earn. Whereas the second Pirates (at a comparatively brisk 2 and a half hours) surprised us with it's length, this one was expected. And within it all is a much better film than the second.

It's a shame, then, that the second film is a prerequisite for understanding what the heck is going on At World's End. Much like The Matrix: Reloaded, many plot points are picked up here, in what is mostly a continuation of the story line from Dead Man's Chest. Aside from the trio of main characters from the first film, other major characters such as Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa and Bill Nighy's Davy Jones return as well (as does Naomie Harris' grating Oracle, er, Tia Dalma).

But the story is almost immaterial. What you really want to know about are the effects, and by that I mean, how does Keith Richards look? Let me tell you - he's real, and he's spectacular.

Not really. He might as well have not been in the picture at all, as his cameo smacks of wink-wink-nod-nod "ain't it cool" desperation, and serves as a distraction to the already busy plot. Though he does seem rather lucid, which was a surprise, and his one or two lines were delivered effectively.

Though the film leaves you with the thinking that their will be a fourth Pirates in the near future, you can't help but hope that there's not, and that Depp isn't involved. Much like the Spider-Man franchise, I don't think many outside of hardcore fans are really clamoring for another in the series, and what little legacy there is to be found would be shattered by a fourth (just look at the Batman or Lethal Weapon series, or possibly the upcoming Die Hard sequel, for evidence of this; the fourth film in the series is almost always an abomination).

Then again, if Depp is on board without Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, then maybe they're on to something after all...

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."