Redeemed by a streak of anarchic comedy

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2007)

By any objective standard, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End does not work. It is ineptly directed by Gore Verbinski, who turns the action set-pieces into chaotic hash while failing to make the movie's convoluted plot coherent. Its script (by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio is a mish-mash of twists and developments that ultimately lead nowhere. The movie's second act, in particular, may leave the audience feeling as tipsy and off balance as Jack Sparrow himself, with the characters pursuing their own agendas while confusing plot twists fly aplenty. The climactic showdown involving the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman is by turns chaotic, generic and confusing.
But, guess what, I still left the theater smiling. Why? Simply because the filmmakers seem to have acknowledged their weaknesses and given At World's End a streak of absurd comedy that its predecessor, Dead Man's Chest, did not have. Its as if they decided to give in to the anarchic, fun-loving spirit of Jack Sparrow.
One example of this approach is the final showdown between the soldiers of the East India Company and the pirates. It starts as a purely generic fight scene. And then in the middle of the scene, Will Turner abruptly asks Elizabeth Swann to marry him. When she accepts they ask Captain Barbossa to do the honors. The result is a loony delight, with Turner and Swann kicking soldier butt while pledging eternal fealty, and Barbossa enjoining Will to kiss the bride in between gunshots.
The intention to fill the film with absurd comedy is actually communicated early in the film with the first appearance of Jack Sparrow. He is aboard the beached Black Pearl, which is now crewed by duplicates of him. The real Jack then proceeds to shot one of them in order to gain possession of a single pea. Shortly after that, a group of white crabs carries the Black Pearl back to the sea.
If that's not enough, just wait till you find out what the Brethren Court's nine pieces of eight actually are. Or Captain Teague's (Keith Richards) morbid response when Jack asks him, "How's Mum?" The movie actually opens with a scene you thought you would never see in a Disney movie: mass hangings conducted by Becket's men, with a child as one of the victims.
The film also possesses a surprising sweetness and melancholy. Witness the reunion of Tia Dalma and Davy Jones, in which Jones momentarily regains his humanity. Or the final fate of Will and Elizabeth, which is either incredibly romantic or incredibly sad, or a combination of both. Either way it's oddly life affirming, particularly a brief coda that happens after the end-credits (so stick around for it).
One victim of the film's inept execution is its attempt at social relevance. In some interviews the filmmakers have said that At World's End is a kind of anti-globalization fable, with the East Asia Company cast in the role of a ravenous corporation gobbling everything in its path and the pirates as small traders who fight the corporation for the right to exist. But if that was part of their intention, sorry, but it definitely does not communicate this message in the midst of the film's general atmosphere of mayhem.
Definitely, props have to be given to the actors for whatever success At World's End achieves. Johnny Depp is predictably outstanding, but Geoffrey Rush is just as good. Even Keira Knightly gets to boost her game; at one point she even gets to deliver a "Braveheart"-like speech about the need to fight for freedom. But Orlando Bloom remains bland, and Chow Yun-Fat is wasted in an underdeveloped role as Capt. Sao Feng.
Definitely Dead Man's Chest will go down in history as one of the most undeserving films ever to earn a billion dollars at the global box-office. But At World's End redeems the franchise somewhat, even as one hopes that the producers choose to end the series on this (somewhat) high note.