There was a bit too much Disney for me in this third installment. Depp’s “hallucinations” reminded me of the angel/devil on Goofy’s shoulders in a Mickey Mouse cartoon, and the gratuitous dog with keys in its mouth is so, so old now. But there are lots of good laughs to make up for it, and the special effects alone are worth the price of admission. The escape from Davey Jones locker is amazing, as is the naval battle in Calypso’s whirlpool. See it, and pray that if there is a fourth installment (POTC: Fountain of Youth?) that it doesn’t take two years to make and release it.

The movie was funny with lots of one liners, but the plot was way to confusing and I didn’t particularly like the ending.

It wasn’t as good as the first “Pirates” movie, but I thought that it was a lot better than the second. It seemed to me that in some places the amounts of action were trying to over-compensate for all of the dialog before hand, and, honestly, some of the sub-plots just downright confused me; However, it did manage to fill in some plot gaps, it had some very funny parts (especially Johnny Depps’ (that’s right “s’”)), and the special effects were fantastic. The special effects were what impressed me the most. Overall, it was good, and worth seeing just so that you know what everyone else is talking about. It was fun, but I don’t think that I am going to buy this one when it comes out on DVD.

Hopefully the end because really, it was a fairly good note to go out on. Not as good as the original, but leaps and bounds better than the second; it succeeds because it was fun and fun and fun and then fun again. It’s confusing, sure; people are double-crossing left and right, and the story just doesn’t know when to quit when it comes to stacking plot points, but you could say the same about the first two. What this movie has over Dead Man’s Chest were two things: firstly, getting righ into the fun, and second, characters acting the way they had previously been defined. I hated Dead Man’s Chest because it took nearly hours to get fun, while End of the World was fun in the first ten minutes. It also had Jack, Elizabeth, and Will acting like the characters you had met in the first movie. In the previous installment, they were acting completely out of character, not because of organic character change coming from the story, but rather to get the story where it needed to be. In this one, I recognized all the characters again, so I got right behind them.

There was plenty for me to like. Johnny Depp was back in fine form, partly because he got to work with Geoffrey Rush again; Captain Jack and Captain Barbossa are great foils for each other. Keith Richards’s cameo was glorious as well; this was a case of using the actor’s real-life characteristics as shorthand to understanding the character he’s playing, a sort of meta-cameo, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The crew of the Flying Dutchman were also cut way, WAY down in this movie, which is nothing but a bonus as far as I’m concerned, and I actually liked Bill Nighy’s Davy Jones in this one (he drove me to distraction before). Plus, when the climax of the movie is a thirty minute high-octane battle between two pirate ships in the middle of a storm, it proves that they’ve gotten back to the idea that drove the first movie: it’s based on a ride, so make it fun. It wasn’t as good as the first movie, but it was WAY more fun than the second, so by that criteria alone, it was a success. There are plot holes and convolutions that could make it hard to get through, but for my money, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was a like a breath of fresh air after being trapped in a stale room, and while it never comes close to the brilliance of Curse of the Black Pearl, it’s still worth a watch.

Damn it, I tried so hard to like this movie.

It wasn’t perfect – certain plot threads seemed unnecessary and it could have been streamlined a bit – but overall this movie blew my mind. It incorporated my greatest fear (an infinitely large waterfall – I was literally clutching the edges of my chair), was epic in all senses of the word, and caused me to become totally absorbed in the film – perched on the edge of my seat, mouth half-open, holding my breath, the whole lot. Also, I loved the fact that I was always maddeningly questioning my character loyalties – who should I root for? Other pros included beautiful people, some really great actors, intense special effects, and Keith Richards (I knew he was in it but I still laughed aloud when he appeared). And I actually enjoyed the trippy hilarity of Jack’s schizophrenia. It ended well – all the threads were tied up but it was still bittersweet. After seeing the previous entry, though, I wish I’d stayed till the end of the credits. Darn!

The last time around i was more than a little surprised and at first i wasn’t sure if i liked or disliked the movie. i was so mad when Elizabeth kissed Jack, absolutely irate, not because of what happened to Jack, but because of what it did to Will. It gave Jack a chance to show his bold side, even if he hadn’t chosen that course of action. But Dead Man’s Chest gradually grew on me, for all it’s silliness and over the top humor, i couldn’t help but appreciate it the more i saw it.

This film has a surprise ending but without the negative shock value of the last, even though it is sad. i don’t think that i would have chosen this ending, and i’m actually surprised that i didn’t figure out the twist sooner, but i am still content with the film, even with how the Will/Elizabeth relationship is concluded. With more Jack than i was expecting i would have thought that the movie would seem more ridiculous, but somehow it worked for me. Norrington and Governor Swan come to satisfying conclusions for me as well, though also sad.

There is a lot more piracy going on in this film, even Will and Elizabeth start taking part in the back stabbing. The battles and locations are awe inspiring on a new scale, and even the lunacy seems to make sense. But not everything is fun and games this time around, everyone seems more serious. i feel so badly for Davy Jones in the end! For a while i wasn’t sure who i should root for, who i wanted to win, how i wanted things to end up, because the only noble ending was sad for so many beloved characters. Who would have ever thought i would be rooting for pirates anyway? i, for one, do not lack a moral center, but here the edges are blurred, the plotlines intertwined, i am going to need another viewing or two to take it all in and figure it out. But i’ve discovered that seeing any ship be blown apart really takes it out of me, no matter which side is being defeated. The film provides and interesting twist on pirate history and brings it around for a good conclusion while leaving the possibilities open for more sequels…

p.s. When you see it don’t forget to stay around for the “ten years later” at the end of the credits.