A fan's movie

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2007)

I am a fan of the Pirates franchise, and as such am very familiar with the preceding movies. Stating that, I say that At World's End is a fan's movie. I enjoyed virtually every second of it, I found it rich and layered and complex without becoming overly confusing. I was extremely satisfied with the experience and can't wait to watch it again.
Its weakness is the fact that it's a fan's movie. If you aren't familiar with the events of Dead Man's Chest (and I think that means more than having seen it once last summer), odds are you'll be confused by what's happening - not a lot of time is spent re-establishing plot points to bring you up to speed. Dead Man's Chest got a lot of criticism for being somewhat disjointed and complicated - criticism I agree with. I feel that At World's End tells a much more coherent and well-paced story without sacrificing an intricate plot. DMC felt like a long movie; AWE is longer but I never once felt it.
I also feel that AWE is much better written than DMC was. The dialogue isn't clumsy, and there's not a self-conscious effort to be funny. While there are humorous moments in the film, they never feel forced or obvious, as happened in DMC. References to the past movies are a joy to discover (there are some really subtle ones, and I have no doubt that there are many I didn't see on the first viewing). I feel like the writers concentrated on the plot and characters almost exclusively and let the humor occur naturally as opposed to the drawn-out, almost slapstick sequences that peppered DMC. The same is true for the effects - there's some gorgeous effects shots (and some gorgeous shots in general) but the filmmakers are no longer trying to best themselves in terms of effects. They simply serve their purpose unobtrusively, which is what effects are supposed to do. Only in one sequence did I feel the effects work wasn't up to par (and it involved models and forced perspective more than CGI).
The only true quibble I have with the film, on first viewing, is a character plot line that I don't feel was fully resolved. Overall I enjoyed the character development immensely, and especially love the arc for Elizabeth. As with the preceding movies, it will require more than one viewing to really appreciate the journey each character takes, and I look forward to that experience!
Overall, an excellent achievement, a fan's movie, one I enjoyed from start to finish and plan on enjoying many times in the future. I couldn't have expected more.