Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (2 Disc Limited Edition Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture:
A-/B Sound: A-/B Extras: B+ Film: B-
Yo, Ho!
Yo, Ho! A Pirates’ sequel life for
me! Is that what Johnny Depp is singing
these days? Under review for all ye
landlubbers is the long awaited Pirates
of the Caribbean (3): At World’s End
(2 Disc Limited Edition). Spawning from
a film that was a surprise hit in 2003, Pirates
of the Caribbean: At World’s End takes the film series to a new level and
not necessarily a good one.
The film
picks up where the second film left off, at the tentacles of a giant, killer
squid. The film starts with a bunch of
convoluted wheeling and dealing. The
team attempts to save Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones locker so he can be present
at the Pirate Brethren Court at Shipwreck Cove (since prior to his death in DMC
he never named a successor). The
Brethren will discuss how to handle the evils that are whipping pirates from
the face of the earth. The map to Davy
Jones Locker, however, is owned by the notorious Pirate Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) and
he wants nothing to do with helping the likes of Jack Sparrow. Will Turner manages to strike a deal with
Feng that will exchange Jack for the Black Pearl. Once Jack is found, he is having major
hallucinations (hundreds of Jack Sparrows) and is leery to even join a crew of
which four members have tried to kill him.
After some convincing and tricky moves Jack and his crew return to the
real world, only to face many forms of betrayal and surprises from many
fronts. The film takes many twists and
turns that will certainly shock most fans.
So suit up and grab a sword for one last rope swinging, sword fighting
adventure.
As a
fellow critic on this site amusingly mentioned, there is only so many times
getting hit on the head can be considered funny. I will not doubt the acting abilities of any
of the film’s cast. I will not even
doubt the director. But I can doubt the
writers’ ability to turn an unlikely box office smash hit into two more sequels. The first film was surprisingly dark, gritty,
and made the audience remember why pirate films are cool. Johnny Depp invented a character like the
world had never seen (just short of going to a Stones concert) and at that
point he did not get enough screen time to overwhelm the audience. Just goes to show that lightening can’t
strike the same mast twice.
The
problem with Pirates of the Caribbean:
At World’s End is that it got a little too big for its pantaloons. The first film was simple, well written, and
well cast. It had the heart and soul of
a classic pirate film, with the money and action of modern blockbuster. After the success of the original film Disney
pumped all kinds of crazy money and promotion into the second and third films,
over inflating the film’s ego. This
third film installment in the series is truly the second act of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Where as this third installment should have
been the trilogy’s Swan Song it more so fizzled as the second part to an ok
sequel.
The
original cast does a great job, though this reviewer still thinks the writers
had trouble deciding on how they wanted Keira Knightley’s character to act,
changing her personality drastically from film to film. Nevertheless Knightley pulled off the
character quite well. Johnny Depp is
still great as Captain Jack Sparrow and does not get on this reviewer’s nerves
nearly as much as he did in Dead Man’s Chest.
The
swashbuckling technical features on this double disc set are very nice, as all
recent Disney releases have been. Like the previous releases, the picture
is presented in 1080p (ill-listed as 1080i on the back of the packaging and its
fancy paperboard slipcase) 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is again shot
in Super 35mm and digitized like crazy, but the money is there and this holds
its digital effects like the previous releases.
The standard DVD is not bad in its anamorphically enhanced for 16 X 9
TVs (though it helps regular such sets) that is crisp and clear with balanced
colors. This release demonstrates much
less light/dark issues than the previous release (POTC: Dead Man’s Chest), but due to the technique of filming used
there is still an intentionally gritty feel applied for that aged affect.
The PCM 24/48 5.1 mix is as rich, strong, punchy and soundfield able as the
previous Blu-rays, with maybe the slightest edge over the previous PCM mixes
from the last films. Both disc versions once
again offer the sound in a lesser, but still quality Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound mix that is crisp, clear and balanced.
The PCM just annihilated the Dolby in both cases.
Once
again Disney does not fail to impress this reviewer with their excellent
special features. The plethora of
features on this 2 Disc set could swab the deck with any other DVDs features. Both discs include a featurette entitled ‘Keith & The Captain: On Set with Johnny
Depp and The Rock Legend,’ Bloopers of the Caribbean, Deleted Scenes with
optional Commentary by Director Gore Verbinski, The Tale of Many Jacks, Anatomy
of a Scene: Maelstrom, Masters of Design: Creating the Pirates’ World, The
World of Chow Yun-Fat, Inside the Brethren Court, The Pirate Maestro: The Music
of Hans Zimmer, and Hoist the Colours: The Story Behind the Song. Honestly the features are amazing and the
Blu-ray-only Enter The Maelstrom
interactive tour of the film and franchise does not hurt either. This reviewer found them to be entertaining,
insightful, and very rewatchable with qualities that not many Blu-rays or DVDs
can claim to have. The featurettes with
Johnny Depp & Keith Richards, The
Tale of Many Jacks and the Bloopers are especially good and deserve some
attentive watching.
There is
talk of Johnny Depp continuing the character of Captain Jack Sparrow in either
more sequels or even prequels. Here is a
word of advice from a guy who knows a little bit about not knowing when to give
up, RUN! RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN! There is no need for anymore of these
films. Three was plenty and the story
was all wrapped up nicely into a tight chest that should never be opened
again. In fact, though many would have
been disappointed, one film was probably enough. This reviewer recommends this film if you
have seen the other two films. But for
all other purposes people should learn to leave well enough alone. So for one last time, raise that Jolly Roger
and surrender to your desire to see Johnny Depp pretend he is Keith Richards.
- Michael P Dougherty II
