Don't Worry The Third Pirates Movie Is Better Than The Second

Rating: 9/10 (5 June 2007)

I loved Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, so I was a little disappointed by the second movie, which was...well...not as good as the first. But I knew a third one would shortly follow it, so I was hoping that it could make up for all that was bad in Dead Man's Chest and hopefully wrap up the story properly. However, after seeing both Shrek 3 and Spiderman 3, I was feeling very apprehensive that POTC 3 would do much better. (Shrek 3 is not terrible, but save your money and don't see Spiderman 3, rent it when it comes out on DVD and as soon as Tobey starts dressing in all black, looking emo, and dancing, just skip the scene, and maybe the movie will seem alright to you.) The movie however starts out with a very serious hanging scene and some child singing...mirroring the opening of the first movie. I was like "yes! it might actually be good!" And it was.
Johnny Depp was brilliant, adding a whole new layer to the crazy Jack Sparrow and even showing a more serious layer behind the character who really hasn't been explored as much as the others. Geoffery Rush was awesome and is possibly the character that the Second movie needed because he brings the pirate spirit back to the pirate movie. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly's characters are fighting for a large part of the beginning, and although it is not fully explained why they work it out, just assume that true love conquers all, and let it go. Also, be sure to stay after the credits to learn more about their love relationship. Speaking of love, Davy Jones and his love get a more fleshed out story line, which was also not completely explained, but Davy Jones's story is at least finally explained. Keith Richards's character was not a huge roll, but was much more than just a cameo, so I was happy. The character Tia Dalma was excellent! As for everyone else that I haven't mentioned, they were all very good--I have no complaints.
As for the plot, well it is filled with back to back betrayals and the switching of sides happens possibly more often than Dead Man's Chest, only it isn't as hard to follow. The only part that gets a little confusing is the nine pieces of eight...because the line explaining it properly is delivered too suddenly. The main reason the plot is less confusing is because the majority of the plot just adds to the characters' stories, which is a good thing for me.
The couple of things that were probably over done was the over stereotyping of the other pirates from the other countries. Captain Sao Feng was the only character that was not completely a terrible stereotype, and that is only because the character is given a more detailed story in the film. There were also a ridiculous amount of lines referring back to past movie jokes. The first few were fine...but they manage to cross the limit on how many times you can do it before it takes away from the movie.
Basically: Pirates is funny and entertaining. I still cared about the characters and enjoyed the new ones as well. It was much better than Dead Man's Chest and a good addition to the series. It was a feast for the eyes and was action packed. I liked, I loved it, I saw it twice, I'll probably see it again and I'm going to buy the DVD.