Hopefully the last 'Pirates' movie

Rating: 4/10 (26 May 2007)

'At Worlds End' is what happens when movie makers know they are going to make big $$$ on their film no matter what they do. In short, they made a plondering mess whose only bright spot is its occasional humor and not selling out to a traditional fairy tale ending. From the start, there's the ridiculous attempt at making a political statement in the opening scenes where the pirates and their allies are being hanged. See, they may be murderous, thieving, bloodthirsty people but they had their civil liberties taken away so now they're the good guys. This was the writers attempt to justify why exactly were supposed to NOT want the world to be rid of pirates, but it just came off as lame. Later in the film, Elizabeth attempts a 'William Wallace' like speech to rally the pirates to fight for their freedom which was equally if not more so lame. Then there's Barbossa, who was a fantastic villain in the first movie; now, he's not such a bad guy after all and in fact seems to become everyones pal. What a waste of a great character (he has the best line in the movie however, when Elizabeth and Will want to get married). The entire Calypso plot line was boring; it just seemed made up for this movie to give our heroes a convenient way to beat Davey Jones, though they try to sell it as if it had been mentioned before in the previous films. I didn't buy it, but I'll admit a 50 foot tall woman who turns into crabs does make me shudder.
The film is not without merit; there are some genuinely funny moments (the monkey pretty much steals them all)and the acting is adequate. Much has been made of Keith Richards cameo role as Jacks father, when I saw it you could hear people drawing their breathe when he was about to appear (its telegraphed the whole way) but it was an underwhelming moment at best. If you're like me and had forgotten just how ugly Keith Richards actually is, then you'll be immediately reminded. I enjoyed the big ending battle for the most part, though it does get rather unbelievable even for a movie. It was also unbelievable that Lord whathisname went down without firing a shot. I give it 4 stars, and I feel that's being charitable. Of course, the kids and the die-hard fans will love it, and that's who the movie is really for and they'll ensure it makes a gazillion dollars and gets big votes here on IMDb. However, anyone objectively viewing this film will know better. Lets hope they resist the urge to make another sequel.