Some amazingly innovative story arcs; third movie better than wretched excess of the first sequel

Rating: 7/10 (9 June 2007)

May contain minor spoilers. I mark the spoiler with *** so you avoid spoiling the experience later.
I contemplated skipping Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End because the second movie of the franchise left a bitter taste in my mouth. It's been almost a year since I last saw that movie in the theatre with the cliffhanger conclusion.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is fascinating for its sometimes innovative story arcs, spectacular production & costume design and top-notch special effects.
Three things that may mar the enjoyability factor of the latter two in the trilogy are
1) bloated in overdirecting and overwritten. See the second movie - it goes on and on like a non-stop amusement ride that leave some viewers exhausted and bored. The third movie comes close with some convoluted subplots that may not make sense.
2) overacting with annoying results. Johnny Deep was great in the first movie but grinded his character quirks into rough chalk in the last two movies. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley offer nothing of substance but basically cardboard characters. Fine acting as usual by the supporting cast including Rush Geoffrey and Bill Nighy. Oh, and the particular comedic sidekick duo get really, really old that make me yawn whenever the scenes go to them to deliver jokes.
3) nauseating level of realistic (fantasy) violence. I'm surprised the third movie barely eked out with a passable PG-13 rating. The third movie is considerably more violent than the two. Certainly not for small children.
I kid you not I slept through the meandering middle of the second Pirate movie. That's a terribly dull movie. Third movie almost had a drowsy effect on me but thankfully I stay awoke during the "slow" character development scenes and got past it to watch the spectacular scenes.
However, what made the third movie work on some level is semi-predictable but innovative story arcs and twists that make for an exciting movie-going experience. ***SPOILER*** The space-travel, pirate ship flip and character trade sequences are wonderfully inventive that reminds me of earlier Final Fantasy video games. These scenes, while bizarre, are riveting.
Unfortunately, At World's End movie length stretch to nearly three hours with some ludicrous and energy-deflating subplots that don't make sense, not to mention plot holes that may confuse the viewers about the disappearing minor characters explained in brief expositionary dialogues. Maybe the director and editors had to excise some footage for being extraneous that would add more to the length of the movie.
The first movie is still a lot better because it was a fresh concept and Johnny Depp embodied Jack Sparrow with amusing conviction that earned him a Best Actor nomination. The last two movies -- I hope there won't be the fourth pirate movie, that would be dumb -- border on utter bloatedness with too many plots, too many characters and too many yawn-inducing jokes. What saved the third movie is the inventive storytelling that make for a semi-enjoyable movie night.
Keira and Orlando does nothing to add to the characters -- more of the same as the previous two. It's kind of boring to watch them deliver dialogues with bare facial expressions and body language, although I admit Keira looks fine in this movie. But a woman with orange tan skin would be out of place in the setting that makes it implausible, despite the concept being fantasy.
The appearance by Keith Richards is a pleasant surprise but it's a bare cameo. Keith doesn't act much when he recites the scripted dialogues, obviously because acting is a difficult art to master.
Overall, an almost good movie that's better than the horrible first sequel. The Matrix had the similar problem with the terrible, bloated middle and made the bang with the final third whereas the Pirates trilogy is just matinée popcorn entertainment.
*** out of 4