confused and disappointed

It is always such fun to look forward to a sequel to a movie. You always hope that this one is going to be better than the last, and you will enjoy and perhaps even be moved by the opportunity to see a favorite character grow. This was so not the case with PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END. I mostly was confused and disappointed by this movie. First, if you are going to go and see it...make sure to watch the second part again. It is a continuation of this film, and if you haven't boned up on what is going on, you will sit there trying to remember who is who, and what they were doing, when. Second, take copious notes on who is who. Everyone seems to be double-crossing everyone.....but I wasn't sure what side everyone was on to start with. So, therein lies the frustration of the third in the PIRATES trilogy. Oh, and one aspect of the end of the movie really irritated me. I don't want to give it away, but I was annoyed that after spending all of this time caring, the film ended the way it did.

Johnny Depp is lovely as Captain Jack. He isn't so much developing a character as having fun, and in this case, that's fine. It's fun to watch his ridiculousness play out, since you can't really understand what is going on with the rest of the movie. Orlando Bloom does his best (in the special British way) to develop his character and tell a story, and Keira is there looking pretty. The supporting cast (regular PIRATES people) do a fine job, and the fighting on the sea has moments of pure genius.

Final thoughts: I wanted so much to LOVE this movie. I am hoping that if I had watched the second movie again, it would have made more sense, and encourage you to revisit it prior to your own viewing. Although it was confusing, there was some fun parts, and you can't beat fight sequences on the big screen. If you can, check it out at the second-run house with your popcorn in hand.

photo credit: www.movieweb.com