Pirates Drowned at Sea

Rating: 4/10 (16 June 2007)

I went to see Pirates 3 the day after it opened and to be honest it was a huge letdown.
The plot was over crowded and messy. There were reports that it had not been completed by the time shooting had started and it showed.
I don't mind and ensemble cast but this movie will be used as an example in later years to prove why less is more.
There was just to much going on.
Johnny Depp was as consistent as ever as Jack Sparrow, and that is nota compliment. Yes he nailed his performance as Jack yet again, but one character does not make a movie. I did not like all the Jacks when he was hallucinating through out the movie it didn't work and it looked as though the writers had a bad day and thought "I know lets just add a few more Jacks for comic relief to hide the fact that we don't know where the plot is going yet!"
Orlando Bloom hardly had any screen time, not that I am complaining. He sailed off into the Sunset in Davey Jones ship and hopefully will stay out to sea collecting souls for ten years
Keira Knightly got even more screen time in Pirates3 and has gone full circle from damsel in distress to ass kicking Pirate leader which is a good thing
Captain Norrington the most fleshed out character went from being a major player in the Pirates 2 to having a bit part in Pirates 3 and to add injury to the insult he was killed of in a quick sword fight by a character he had never met before for no particular reason.
Bootstrap Bill went insane and killed Norrington for no reason then sailed off with Will. No actual real point of this character
We had more of the comedy pirates and more of the comedy British soldiers to add even more comedy to an already unfunny film. Don't get me wrong - some of the comedy worked and only some of it. The movie was in danger of being to expensive and full of its own smugness for its own good
Barbossa was back and we can all be thankful for that. Geoffrey Rush stole the show and was clearly enjoying himself all throughout the movie.
The Black Pearl crew were all back and had a few fun moments.
The meeting of the Pirate Lords was interesting and was a fun idea. The Keith Richards cameo added to the films self importance. He served no purpose and was just a pat on the film makers back. He added nothing in the long run to the film apart from a few pre-release headlines.
The action was very good though - especially the action at sea and the battles on the ships. It was exciting to see all the Pirate ships line up against all the British Soldiers. I did not like the super size Tia Dalma/ Calypso it looked bad and served no purpose in the end as she jumped into the sea in a huff never to be seen or spoken of again - so much for hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Pirates1 was a fantastic film and still is and Johnny Depp thoroughly deserved his Oscar nomination for trying something a bit different, but Pirates of the Caribbean did not ask for a sequel nor to be made into a trilogy. Films are sometimes better left alone and not turned into a trilogy just for the sake of it.
The Pirates trilogy is just a money making machine and clearly ran out of ideas and steam at the end of the 2nd one. Of course there will be people who will defend this movie to the death, but honestly enough is enough. Pirates3 ended with a hint of a 4th and judging by the amount of money this one has made it is a possibility.
I give this movie 4 out of 10. A point for the action, a point for Barbossa, a point for the score which was again very good, and a point for me - for actually sitting through the whole 2hour plus saga.
Don't rent then movie - you wont watch it until the end.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has now officially drowned in its own hype.