Not only the final act of a trilogy, but a homage to the first film too

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2007)

Why do people go into sequels? Well, because they know what to expect, and they want more of it. So obviously, as you make a sequel to a very successful and popular movie you are forced to up the ante. The first Pirates was a stand-alone movie with an open ending, but it was somehow finished. Bad guys gone, the curse lifted from the Pearl and Sparrow on the loose again, that was it. Now since Pirates wasn't a classic pirate adventure but a fantasy pirate film with a lot of yarn and legend come to life with undead pirates and all, it all had to be more spectacular in Pirates 2 and even more so in Pirates 3. And to make these two come together they ended in a cliffhanger where one of the major characters has to be saved in the last part. There are too many parallels with the original StarWars to go into (main character "dies" at end of film two, rescue mission, two opposing fleets in final battle...). Anyway, the fantasy elements clearly got stronger in films 2 and 3 than they were in the first. It is still enjoyable and visually impressive on a big screen, but things like the 3-people fight in the wheel in Pirates 2 and the (HEAVY SPOILER) maelstrom fight between Pearl and Dutchman are too over-the-top and reminiscent of theme park rides, which is not surprising what with Pirates being based on one anyway. No question, the CGI carry a lot of the film, while the complex and intertwined plot with everybody crossing and double-crossing everyone is a bit confusing and you are surprised about the changes in character. Jack is the only reliable of the whole bunch of back-stabbers, because as a dishonest man can of course he can be trusted to be dishonest, and so his betrayals are not really surprising anyone. His, or rather Johnny Depp's performances are again the driving force of the movie. I don't know exactly how to call these sequences, but let's say his afterlife schizophrenic hallucinations, when he talks to his other sub-identities, at one point commands and crews a ship just by his very own selves, are the most hilarious scenes. Jack is best when interacting with the other characters, especially Rush's Barbossa with whom he squabbles constantly over the Pearl's command including some hilarious 'mine's-longer-than-yours' references. And Jack meeting his parents (yes, both of them, in a manner of speaking) is also not to miss. Verbinski also tries to tie all three films closer together, not only by unraveling some of the mysteries spun in Pirates 2, but also by paying homage to the other two movies, especially the first one. There's the rum that is always gone, the sea turtle story, and Jack's two slapping strumpets. This time even the two redcoats guarding the Interceptor in the first film are back. But there's more, Verbinski quotes himself repeatedly. The film starts and finishes on a song, and Captain Jack once again rides into view in one scene standing on top of the mast (only this time it is really a ship not just a boat, oh and the ship doesn't ride on the crest of a wave but on a crest of crabs...through the desert). Even though the film is really exciting and enjoyable to watch, it has a very major flaw in terms of picturing the villains. I don't mean Davy Jones, despite his vessel's submarine capabilities and his organ-playing which remind me of Captain Nemo. But what about the East India Trading Company that makes all pirates' timbers shiver, and who have control over Davy Jones? Well, at the start of the film Lord Beckett is shown as introducing a terror regime at Port Royal that is casting him as an earlier version of Robbespierre, possibly to make the pirates seem more humane (freedom-loving, code of honour...). If Beckett and co. are so tough why do they leave all the work to the Dutchman (HEAVY SPOILER) and why does their vastly superior fleet not engage the pirate brethren? Why doesn't Beckett fire a single shot? Generally, what is really missing from this film is that battle of the two fleets which from the trailer I was somehow anticipating. There is only one time we see the pirates from all the corners of the world fight, and that is in the council chamber among themselves. Apart from Sao Feng, they were a mere footnote to the whole film. That it all boils down to a duel between Pearl and Dutchman instead of an epic battle with dozens of ships is a bit pathetic. That would have been the proper sending off for the trilogy. The missing of this battle was one of the things that just weren't predictable. Neither were some of the twists and Turns in the movie, especially the final one, but others simply had it coming, such as the already-mentioned references to the previous films. Finally, the big parallel to the first movie is that again the trilogy is now finished within itself (like Star Wars), but it is still open ended. Johnny Depp has repeatedly said he still would love to play the character again, and the map Sparrow has at the end of the film leaves many magical places still to explore, but I don't think this is going to happen in the immediate future. Maybe a number of years down the road, but not right away. I would see them too, as long as Jack's on board. I would also see this one a second time on the big screen, and for fans of the series and Captain Jack it is a must-see, despite the things that I pointed out ...hmm-hm-hm,...and really bad eggs... drink up me hearties, joho