Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At Worlds End.
December 7th 2007 22:15
Category: Movies
Director: Gore Verbinsky.
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer.
Written by: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio.
Based on Characters Created by: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie & Jay Wolpert.
Starring: Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbosa), Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth), Chow Yun Fat (Sao Feng), Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), Stellan Skarsgard (Bootstrap Bill).
Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures.
Running Time: 162 minutes. Rating: M.
It’s an amazing thing to consider that the inspiration behind this piratical saga was an actual ride at a major theme park, which goes to show how creative impetus can be found in the most unusual of places. At the end of Dead Man’s Chest, or POTC 2 if you prefer, it was pretty obvious that there was going to be a sequel, a POTC 3. So naturally when it arrived at my local cinema along I went with an ‘Avast ye swabs’ and a ‘ho ho ho’ but definitely not drinking any rum (can’t stand the stuff). Being the kind of individual I am I went at a time in the early morning thinking to beat the rush, unfortunately at the time I had this idea so did everyone else its seemed. Still not deterred by an influx of scurvy dogs I sauntered to a suitable place in the darkened deeps there to watch the swashbuckling unfold before my eyes.
The one thing that can definitely be said about all of the Pirate films is that they have returned the genre of the swashbuckler back into the mainstream with a vengeance and as far as I’m concerned this is a good thing. When it’s done well a swashbuckler is truly an enjoyable experience to watch and so far none of the movies in this franchise has disappointed in that regard. What could be the main problem lies not in the movies themselves but the fact of will Disney be content with just the three or will they try and milk this for all its worth and unfortunately go to far with things? Rumour has it that there is a POTC 4 in the works and knowing Disney its likely that they’ll try and follow up with a POTC 5 and so on getting as much as they can from what so far has been a successful series.
Regardless of the future plans of Disney, At Worlds End is a rip roaring experience of film, an epic tale of betrayal, adventure, love, redemption, tragedy, reality and the other worldly. In fact it would be safe to say that betrayal and love are two of the driving forces behind the story in At Worlds End. The interactions between Elizabeth and Will are mirrors of the interactions between that of Davy Jones and Calypso though as events prove where the latter two are ruled by their natures for Will and Elizabeth the circumstances they go through are due to ignorance or a lack of communication rather than an intrinsic character flaw. The other significant driving impetus within the story is the nature of reality, the struggle between the Brethren and the East India Company is not only one of a simple clash of divergent interests but also one between two separate ways of life. The Company is a rationalist entity seeking to impose stability and order within the world, they seek to dispel the immaterial and the fantastic whilst the Brethren cling to superstitions, tradition and independence, scorning the cold rationalism of the Company.
When the movie opens it begins with a series of mass executions being undertaken by the Company at the behest of Lord Cuttler Beckett. At some point the condemned all start singing a rousing tune about piracy and the pirate life and how they’ll never truly die. This is precisely the reaction that Lord Beckett is expecting for it means that the Brethren Court will be convened and soon his forces will eliminate them once and for all. What he is unaware of is that there is more than meets the eye to the situation, things are as fluid as the very waves and sea upon which much of the action unfolds not static and predictable. From the hangings in the West Indies the action moves swiftly to the exotic city of Singapore, home to the fabled Sao Feng, one of the nine pirate lords of the Brethren Court. It is here that the friends and former foes of Captain Jack Sparrow seek to find the means by which they can liberate him from the confines of Davy Jones’ Locker. Here begins the cycle of betrayal that flows throughout the movie as Will cuts a deal with Sao Feng during chaotic fighting against the forces of the Company, his agenda is to free his father from the clutches of Davy Jones and it seems he is willing to go to any lengths to achieve this.
But this betrayal is not the beginning, it may be the first in the events of the movie but the theme reaches back into the past with the origins of Davy Jones. Jones was charged by his lover, the sea goddess Calypso to ferry all those who died at sea to the other side, the afterlife if you will. Over time he neglected his charge and the goddess cursed him, forcing him to become the monster that he is in POTC 2 and 3. Thus the first betrayal is that of Jones, his neglect of his duty, the second is Calypso’ when she is absent the one day that Jones can spend ashore which leads in turn to the third betrayal where Jones tells the first Brethren Court the means to bind Calypso into a human form. It is this latter fact that Calypso is unaware of, that it was her former lover that was mainly responsible for her binding and not the members of the court. But unfortunately for both Jones and Calypso their natures have too much hold over them for change, the circumstances of their betrayals have been dictated by this very facet. The other mortal characters within the tale do not have that curse; they can change and bend leading to redemption and possibly reconciliation.
As with all the other Pirate movies in this series the acting is fantastic and the actors breathe life into the characters giving them the depth to make them more than just scallywag caricatures. For my mind Johnny Depp is simply superb as Captain Jack and it would have to be his best role yet, it is a unique character to find in a swashbuckler and Captain Jack has given the series that oomph that makes these movies great. Bill Nighy is fantastic as Davy Jones, giving him a certain gravitas and menacing charm whilst Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbosa is always fun to watch, in fact I found myself quite liking his character in this movie, At Worlds End. It is interesting to note that in this movie the makers opted to go for an alliance between the fantastic villain, Jones, and the more mundane yet no less malevolent Lord Cuttler Beckett. In the previous movie the villain was usually fantastic in nature either the undead Barbosa or the near immortal Davy Jones. The use of a more ‘mundane’ villain only achieves major significance in this third instalment due to the nature of the major conflict between the Company and the Brethren.
Special effects are also spectacular within this film, though there is no Kraken to swallow whole ships targeted by Jones and his nefarious crew there is definitely plenty of amazing sequences within the film. The multiple Jacks and the Crabs are two such amazing sequences, both of which occur when Captain Jack is trapped within the bleak and seemingly bland confines of Davy Jones’ Locker. On the DVD version of At Worlds End there is brief documentary on the second disc on how they did the multiple Jacks which is an interesting watch and you also get to here Johnny Depp’s take on the situation.
So don’t just sit there a gawping me hearties, get aboard and set sail for POTC 3: At Worlds End...
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer.
Written by: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio.
Based on Characters Created by: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie & Jay Wolpert.
Starring: Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbosa), Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth), Chow Yun Fat (Sao Feng), Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), Stellan Skarsgard (Bootstrap Bill).
Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures.
Running Time: 162 minutes. Rating: M.
It’s an amazing thing to consider that the inspiration behind this piratical saga was an actual ride at a major theme park, which goes to show how creative impetus can be found in the most unusual of places. At the end of Dead Man’s Chest, or POTC 2 if you prefer, it was pretty obvious that there was going to be a sequel, a POTC 3. So naturally when it arrived at my local cinema along I went with an ‘Avast ye swabs’ and a ‘ho ho ho’ but definitely not drinking any rum (can’t stand the stuff). Being the kind of individual I am I went at a time in the early morning thinking to beat the rush, unfortunately at the time I had this idea so did everyone else its seemed. Still not deterred by an influx of scurvy dogs I sauntered to a suitable place in the darkened deeps there to watch the swashbuckling unfold before my eyes.
When the movie opens it begins with a series of mass executions being undertaken by the Company at the behest of Lord Cuttler Beckett. At some point the condemned all start singing a rousing tune about piracy and the pirate life and how they’ll never truly die. This is precisely the reaction that Lord Beckett is expecting for it means that the Brethren Court will be convened and soon his forces will eliminate them once and for all. What he is unaware of is that there is more than meets the eye to the situation, things are as fluid as the very waves and sea upon which much of the action unfolds not static and predictable. From the hangings in the West Indies the action moves swiftly to the exotic city of Singapore, home to the fabled Sao Feng, one of the nine pirate lords of the Brethren Court. It is here that the friends and former foes of Captain Jack Sparrow seek to find the means by which they can liberate him from the confines of Davy Jones’ Locker. Here begins the cycle of betrayal that flows throughout the movie as Will cuts a deal with Sao Feng during chaotic fighting against the forces of the Company, his agenda is to free his father from the clutches of Davy Jones and it seems he is willing to go to any lengths to achieve this.
But this betrayal is not the beginning, it may be the first in the events of the movie but the theme reaches back into the past with the origins of Davy Jones. Jones was charged by his lover, the sea goddess Calypso to ferry all those who died at sea to the other side, the afterlife if you will. Over time he neglected his charge and the goddess cursed him, forcing him to become the monster that he is in POTC 2 and 3. Thus the first betrayal is that of Jones, his neglect of his duty, the second is Calypso’ when she is absent the one day that Jones can spend ashore which leads in turn to the third betrayal where Jones tells the first Brethren Court the means to bind Calypso into a human form. It is this latter fact that Calypso is unaware of, that it was her former lover that was mainly responsible for her binding and not the members of the court. But unfortunately for both Jones and Calypso their natures have too much hold over them for change, the circumstances of their betrayals have been dictated by this very facet. The other mortal characters within the tale do not have that curse; they can change and bend leading to redemption and possibly reconciliation.
As with all the other Pirate movies in this series the acting is fantastic and the actors breathe life into the characters giving them the depth to make them more than just scallywag caricatures. For my mind Johnny Depp is simply superb as Captain Jack and it would have to be his best role yet, it is a unique character to find in a swashbuckler and Captain Jack has given the series that oomph that makes these movies great. Bill Nighy is fantastic as Davy Jones, giving him a certain gravitas and menacing charm whilst Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbosa is always fun to watch, in fact I found myself quite liking his character in this movie, At Worlds End. It is interesting to note that in this movie the makers opted to go for an alliance between the fantastic villain, Jones, and the more mundane yet no less malevolent Lord Cuttler Beckett. In the previous movie the villain was usually fantastic in nature either the undead Barbosa or the near immortal Davy Jones. The use of a more ‘mundane’ villain only achieves major significance in this third instalment due to the nature of the major conflict between the Company and the Brethren.
Special effects are also spectacular within this film, though there is no Kraken to swallow whole ships targeted by Jones and his nefarious crew there is definitely plenty of amazing sequences within the film. The multiple Jacks and the Crabs are two such amazing sequences, both of which occur when Captain Jack is trapped within the bleak and seemingly bland confines of Davy Jones’ Locker. On the DVD version of At Worlds End there is brief documentary on the second disc on how they did the multiple Jacks which is an interesting watch and you also get to here Johnny Depp’s take on the situation.
So don’t just sit there a gawping me hearties, get aboard and set sail for POTC 3: At Worlds End...
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