Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) at Howling Video

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a rollicking voyage in the same spirit of the two earlier Pirates films, yet far darker in spots (and nearly three hours to boot). The action, largely revolving around a pirate alliance against the ruthless East India Trading Company, doesn't disappoint, though the violence is probably too harsh for young children. Through it all, the plucky cast (Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush) are buffeted by battle, maelstroms, betrayal, treachery, a ferocious Caribbean weather goddess, and that gnarly voyage back from the world's end--but with their wit intact. As always, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow tosses off great lines ; he chastises "a woman scorned, like which hell hath no fury than!" He insults an opponent with a string of epithets, ending in "yeasty codpiece."!

In the previous The Curse of the Black Pearl, Sparrow was killed--sent to Davy Jones' Locker. In the opening scenes, the viewer sees that death has not been kind to Sparrow--but that's not to say he hasn't found endless ways to amuse himself, cavorting with dozens of hallucinated versions of himself on the deck of the Black Pearl. But Sparrow is needed in this world, so a daring rescue brings him back. Keith Richards' much ballyhooed appearance as Jack's dad is little more than a cameo, though he does play a wistful guitar. But the action, as always, is more than satisfying, held together by Depp, who, outsmarting the far-better-armed British yet again, causes a bewigged commander to muse: "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?" As far as fans are concerned, it matters not. --A.T. Hurley

On the DVD
Here's something you can't say about just any DVD extras: There appears to be more of Keith Richards in the outtakes, interviews, and other special features on the At World's End disc than in the actual film. For those scenes alone, this special edition is well worth the price. Richards looks as woozy and gamey as all the rumors suggested, and answers questions he's not asked, with Johnny Depp sitting next to him, almost acting as a translator. Richards offers pithy comments like, "Everything I do is original, you better believe," and smiles when other cast members call him "Two-Take Richards" for supposedly nailing his scenes.

The packed second disc also includes a terrific mini-doc on how the filmmakers created the famous maelstrom, in an enormous hanger in Palmdale, California, with the ships floating 30 feet off the ground. "Just moving the Black Pearl was an enormous undertaking," says producer Jerry Bruckheimer with serious understatement. Other cool extras include "Tale of the Many Jacks," deleted scenes with great commentary, "The World of Chow Yun-Fat," a bio of composer Hans Zimmer, features on the set designers, a look at the impressive Brethren Court, and some hilarious bloopers. "You can't curse in a Disney film," deadpans Depp when a costar blurts out something blue. "See? I told him." The extras are truly as much of a rollicking adventure as the film. --A.T. Hurley

Beyond Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End

Our Pirates of the Caribbean Store	Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End Soundtrack	Why We Love… Bill Nighy	Johnny Depp Essential DVDs

Stills from Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (click for larger image)

Viewer Reviews
But maybe the rum would have helped. This is the weakest entry in what was formerly a great franchise. When last we saw our characters (in the cliffhanger from the last film), Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) had been swallowed by a giant sea creature and presumed dead. Fortunately, all is not lost. He's only in Davy Jones' Locker. So Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) reluctantly team up with a shockingly alive Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to free him. Meanwhile, Lord Becket (Tom Hollander) has captured Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy) heart. He is using his control over Jones and his ship, the Flying Dutchman, to hunt down pirates. To stop him, a meeting of the Pirate Lords is called. And since Jack is one of them, he must be rescued. Will his rescuers find him and a way to get all of them back to the land of the living? Let's be perfectly honest. The main draw of this series is Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow. He takes a selfish drunk and makes him funny and interesting. He's in top form here. Not that the other characters don't get their fair share of witty lines. I laughed my way through the first two hours of the two and a half hour film. I was trying to keep track of all the witty lines, but I just couldn't do it. The acting is great. Special praise goes to Geoffrey Rush who made Barbossa into an interesting character. I actually found myself liking him, something I didn't think I could do after the first film. Much was made of Keith Richard and Chow Yun-Fat being in the film, but they really just had extended cameos. And the special effects were as great as always. But when you look beyond the witty lines and special effects, the movie starts to fall apart. I had no problem with the long running time, but I expected to be rewarded with a coherent plot for that. Instead, I felt like I needed a score card to keep track of who was doing what to whom. Of course, since it changed every five minutes, it really didn't matter. To make maters worse, the mythology and supernatural elements got completely out of hand. Not only did you have to keep track of motives, but you had to remember who and what everyone really was. This movie assumes you have seen the first two in the series. If you haven't you'll be lost. Granted, you'll be lost at least once even if you have seen them. But think how much worse it will be if you don't know who the characters are. And they leave out references to the famous rides. The first two had blink and you miss then scenes that mirrored stuff you see while riding at Disneyland. Maybe I blinked at the wrong time, but I didn't see any here. Unlike the first two, there was really only one memorable fight sequence here. It was clever, well down, and very entertaining. The others were enjoyable, but not up to the level of this one. Then there's the climax. I won't spoil it. I'll just say it was not what I expected. And that wasn't a good thing. The quality of the movies in the series continues to decline. The only reason to make a fourth would be to fix the mistakes made here. But based on this film, I doubt that would happen. If you're a fan, you'll enjoy seeing your favorites again and laughing at their antics. But don't go expecting the entertainment of the first movie. That ship has sailed.

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