A salty tale worthy of the best.

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2007)

*** BE YE WARNED, THAR BE SPOILERS BELOW! *** I feel compelled to write because this movie so far overshot my expectations. The first movie was a fun romp the tenor of which I would have been content with in all sequels. Originally, I was expecting a franchise closer to 'Bond' or 'Indiana Jones', (where each movie is connected more by tone, feel and certain elements, but not a chronological story), rather than the ubiquitous commercial 'trilogy'.
After the second movie, I feared the worst: that Bruckheimer had sold out and this was to be yet another "gee, we made money on the first one, lets slap together enough footage for two more movies and call it a trilogy". I have grown tired of the anti-hero sagas of late, and Elizabeth Swann's struggle of conscience & apparent ambivalence in love was way too deep for a Disney Pirate movie. So much so that it sapped all the fun out of the second film.
*** HERE THAR BE SPOILERS! CONTINUE IF YOU DARE! *** The third film redeems the franchise! It is darker than the first, but keeps the introspection at a minimum. While there are new characters, it did not pull a Spidey 3 and introduce a multitude of main characters - all new characters are blessedly short on screen time and importance to the plot. While some would love to know more about Jack's pappy or the pirates of the East, their appearances serve as flavoring for the juicy tale unfolding about the main characters without overwhelming the whole.
As a whole, the movie felt a lot more like traditional tales of the sea than the first two movies. A lot of the humor was much more poignant if you have actually sailed a ship, and even more so if you have sailed some of the waters in the film. I found myself laughing alone due to this. The scene with the night sky reflected in the water was stirring to anyone who has had the rare pleasure to see such a sight. This movie reminded me of Treasure Island, The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood or the tales of Blackbeard. Yet while borrowing distinct elements and flavoring from these classic buccaneering tales, this movie managed to maintain a story and soul of its own.
The appearance of Calypso was fantastic. Those who say she did nothing, have obviously never sailed in rough weather, let alone a giant maelstrom! The fact that she loses her corporeal manifestation (50 foot woman) and becomes more of a primal force (the sea) makes sense with the story and sea lore. Finally, the ending (after the credits) was perfect. It was quite common for a sailor to go a decade at sea before returning to his family and certainly is part of ancient maritime lore (Odysseus anyone?). Just as much as the woman waiting on the cliffs for her love to return.
As to those who deem there to be too many subplots and twists, I encourage you to read some good Pirate stories (start with those listed above). You will find this to be stock in trade for these nautical yarns involving pirates - deception, treachery and obfuscations upon envaguelments. The fun is not in following the double-crosses, but in seeing where the chips fall in the end. This being said, the twists and turns are quite navigable as long as you are not used to simply having your plots spoon-fed to you. The 'board room meetings' were also taken from many of these - reread Treasure Island sometime... pirates seem to have done a lot of deliberating - according to the tales.
Finally, this movie also has its dose of camp, but it is necessary to keep the whole from becoming turgid. I especially liked the inclusion of sound effects from the Disney ride during the transition to Jack in Davey Jones' Locker.
A classic! Can not wait to see it again!
BTW: the more I think about it the more I realize this trilogy has in common with the original Star Wars trilogy, with the exception of a weaker, but similarly dark, second movie.