This is a Whole New Pirates of the Caribbean

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2007)

I just finished seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and all I can say is "Wow!" This movie was so unexpected. I've seen both of the first two Pirates movies multiple times and own the DVD's. I love those movies. I went into AWE expecting more of the same kind of fun, but what I saw was a whole new Pirates universe.
The acting was great again by those you would expect: Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy, etc. But surprisingly Orlando Bloom showed real depth in this one compared to the other two (which seems strange since it was filmed along with Dead Man's Chest.) The visuals were great again, and the score moved the movie along at a nice pace.
But what is most surprising in this movie are the writing and directing. There were still lots of laughs, but this movie is deadly serious at its core, and very trippy-art-house in the way many scenes were written and executed. It wasn't the just sit back and enjoy the ride type of experience that the first two were. Instead, you actually need to pay attention and think in this one. And sometimes what you will think is that maybe you took some hallucinogens before entering the theatre, because this can't really be a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. But it is.
This is a great movie. But be warned that you are not going to see more of what you saw in the first two Pirates movies.