let down *spoilers*

Rating: 1/10 (19 February 2008)

After the first and second films i was eagerly anticipating the third. However i was bitterly disappointed with At World's End. i cant believe how wrong they got it. first of all they seem to have forgotten that the reason the first film was such a hit was the character of Jack Sparrow, who was expertly acted by Johnny Depp. in this film however he is overlooked and set up to be a supporting character to Will and Elizabeth, he also seems to have become completely insane from being dead, which further adds to him being underused. Depp does his best with the material but still cannot bring Captain Jack back to his full glory as seen in Black Pearl. Jack Davenport and commodore Norrington is also an amazingly underused character but so full of potential its almost a crime that he was used more.
this brings me to my second point. Orlando bloom and Keira Knightly appear to have been given the reigns of the films emotional story, something neither actor is able to handle. they lack the emotional depth, acting talent and believability to lead a film, and cast an unconvincing couple in love and on the verge of marriage and so leave us not emotionally invested in their love, it merely makes them seem to scowl at each other an awful lot.
the plot of the third film is a tangled, twisted mess that has more twists than a Shyamalan movie! everyone double crosses everyone else and its almost impossible to keep track of who is actually on whose side, which is made even MORE confusing when you consider there are 3 sides to pick from (will/Elizabeth/jack -1 Davy Jones -2 lord Beckett -3)and these are very thinly defined by the double crossing. Davy Jones is almost without explanation DE-promoted as villain and lord Becket swoops in without really convincing us hes worse than an undead pirate who commands the sea. the kraken is also written off with one line. all the major threats of the second film have been cast off with not much to take their place.
character development has been reinvented here. Elizabeth is shown to be an outspoken, strong independent young woman who is as rough and ready as her fiancé, but in the end is nothing more than left holding the baby and once every 10 years to please her undead husband who is off doing as he pleases commanding the seas. will decides that his undead father who he has never known is worth more than his fiancé and everything else and risks his life for him, Jack is more insane verging on psychotic rather than the lovable eccentric rouge we all loved, Barbosa seems to have lost his venom, and the introduction of new characters is a complete waste of time. Chow Young fat as a pirate lord is probably the most wasted opportunity for a solid new character. i think if his parts were cut out of the film it wouldn't notice, which is a shame as he has so much promise.
although the visual effects are as stunning as ever, the work of Davy Jones cannot be faulted in any way, its flawless. however that seems to be the only thing salvageable out of the sheer mess of plots and characters. the ending also seems like the wrong characters ended up with the wrong fêtes.
it seems that the writers tried to cram WAY too much in, (half the material could've easily been saved for a fourth) the twists make it very difficult to keep up with what is going on and the characters are lost to this and poor writing and the film in general is too dark (not just lighting). they lost sight of what this was, a kids film that appealed to adults through the action and comedy. at 20 i found it headache inducing to try and unscramble.
i am upset as i thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 films, i pray that if a fourth is made is is kept to the same level of simplicity as the first. of course some do like it, but for me it was way off the mark.