Great adventure - a wonderful end to the trilogy!

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2007)

It's fascinating to read through other comments and notice that the majority of people commenting seem to either really hate or really love the movie, with very few voices in between.
It's really quite easy: This is a Disney movie. Movies as a whole don't stick to the truth, not even those which claim they're telling a true story. You don't go into a Disney movie expecting to hear a true story (unless your grip on reality is severely weak to nonexistent), but you look for enchantment, for lurid characters, for great laughs, for something that gives you a tingly feeling of compassion or excitement... for getting transported into a different world where anything is possible.
That of the three POTC movies the first one only managed to touch upon any kind of truth about the real pirates of the Caribbean isles and pirate life in general, should be obvious now. It provided a humorous and exciting introduction to the characters and locations. It was tepid amusement with a pirate overtone and some inspired acting. Fun for the whole family. One doesn't need to think, just be able to laugh and be carried away with the story.
The second movie was a bit more convoluted. It introduced some new characters, some new locations, and provided the main characters with an opportunity to flesh out their own story, to add some depth. It was at times a little boring, not because of its plot, but simply because it seemed to add some superfluous story lines (the cannibals).
At World's End brought all those characters together, and showed the necessary continuance of their character development. Elizabeth had been the adventurous heroine drawn to a charming rogue, then had the ground pulled out from under her feet and became a fugitive and something of a pirate herself. The side she had been on turned into the enemy, and she had to make do with what was left to her, to survive. She never was the quiet withdrawn type - she's crafty and courageous, and that turned her into what she became in the third movie. The same goes for Will, who had only been fighting for his love, to find that on shaky ground. He came face to face with his father who had abandoned him, and since he thought his love had left him, he shifted his ambitions to the rescue of his father. Similarly, everyone else in the movie are following their own ambitions in whichever way they can - so what we get are plots and subplots, everyone crossing everyone else, in a wonderfully crazy way. Throw in some myths turned flesh (Davy Jones and Calypso) and the ruthlessness of the East India Trading Company's designs, and you've got 3 hours of fun.
This isn't a movie for people who just want easy action, and it's definitely not a kids movie. Some of the plots and jokes are extremely subtle. The movie takes some of the lose ends of the previous two movies, adds some more - and manages to solve most of them. It also leaves some others open to speculation and possibly more movies to follow. The best way to watch this movie is to sit back and simply keep an open mind, expect the unexpected. The writers took some amazing leaps of faith in their actors, and made some unusual choices. The idea that Jack being banned to Davy Jones' locker would mean he'd have to captain a Black Pearl full of alternate versions of himself, and even when returned to life he would retain some of this unstable mindset - that was a stroke of genius added to the movie (Leaves the question whether whatever happened in the movie after the "rescue" of Jack couldn't also be interpreted as just part of his own "imagination").
Even Davy Jones and Calypso - their characters suddenly had more depth, because there were a hundred little clues and some interaction between them that told us a lot to make their story the darker side of the parallel one to Will and Elisabeth.
The action sequences were fantastical - great fantasy. They kept you breathless and wanting more - and you never knew quite how a certain situation would end. Maybe that's one of the other advantages to the movie: the plot was never completely predictable like so many other movies have been recently.
I think you have to have a bit of imagination, you've got to have an open mind and you've got to be willing to accept that this isn't standard Disney fare complete with happy ending.
I can understand why some think it's a waste of time and money, but to me it was one of the most enjoyable movies in recent times. And a truly superb finale to the trilogy.