Despite the chatter, not bad at all

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2007)

I know there's been a lot of negative buzz on this movie but I have to respectfully disagree. I think they actually did a good job creating a mythos almost entirely out of whole cloth, while remaining true to the feel of the children's' tales that inspired the trilogy in the first place. Some people walking out of the theater complained that the story was random but what they really meant was "complex" -- you have to dive into the mythos for it to work and you have to connect some dots yourself.
Those who compare this to Matrix:Revolutions are off base. There is one thread that is not tied as well as might be hoped, but most of the important ones are drawn tight. Like any good epic, the Pirates trilogy started local and small and evolved to more grand stages as it progressed. Meanwhile the characters did flesh out somewhat -- everyone at least and at last seems to have a real motivation -- and the sense of Something Big Changing comes through clearly.
Pulling off a third movie is always hard, but I think the producers came through on this one. It's no Return of the King but it does a nice job nonetheless.