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Moriarty Sets Sail With PIRATES 3: AT WORLD’S END!

I think one of the reasons that I would recommend all three of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN FILMS is because they have continued to surprise me since the very beginning. Each of them is very different. Each has its own vibe. And in the end, if the worst you can say about a trilogy is that it is overly ambitious, that seems like a good thing to me.

The very first scene of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL sets in motion the events that reach their climax in the very last scene of the third film in the series, opening this weekend, and I would definitely recommend that anyone who is going to see the movie this weekend should start by watching the first two films again.

And if that sounds like a chore to you, then perhaps AT WORLD’S END isn’t for you.

I’ve seen this third film twice now, and one of the reasons I wanted to get a second look at it before I wrote a review is because screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have intentionally built a dizzyingly silly and fascinatingly dense mythology, a world in which people double-cross everyone around them as frequently as most of us draw breath. It’s also a world where the supernatural is almost mundane, where bizarre creatures sail the seas alongside soldiers and pirates and no one bats an eye. It’s a world I can honestly say feels unique to this series so far, and that’s a rare thing these days. Do I think PIRATES 3 is a perfect film? Nope. But do I think it delivers on the promises that the first two films have been making? For the most part, absolutely.

The first surprise in this film is that it’s darker than either of the others. The opening scene establishes one of the meanings of the title right away as we see row after row of pirates being hanged by the East Indian Trading Company under the watchful eye of Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander). When the last row is brought up to the gallows, one of the pirates appears to be about eight years old. He begins a mournful song, a commemoration of the ending of the age of pirates, the end of this world that we’ve been enjoying over the course of these films. That song is more than just a lament, though, as we see when everyone waiting to be hanged joins in. It’s a summons... a call to action for every free pirate left in this shrinking world.

And then they hang the eight-year-old. In a Disney movie. Seriously. Eight year olds, dude.

That summons echoes into the next scene, which I discussed in my report from the editing room of the film. Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) and the crew of the Black Pearl (returning cast members Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Kevin McNally, and David Bailie) all gather in Singapore, where they attempt to negotiate a crew and a ship out of Sao Feng (Chow Yun Fat), while also stealing some crucial navigational charts that he possesses. Even as they threaten and cajole one another, the East Indian Trading Company closes in on them. That’s a pervasive feeling throughout the entire film. When we first see The Flying Dutchman, still captained by Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), it’s basically being used as the blunt instrument with which Beckett is crushing every sign of piracy on the seas. If Jack Sparrow is the character that everyone flipped for in the first film, then it’s Davy Jones that finally won me over completely to the series. Not only does he represent a pinnacle in character animation for ILM, but Nighy’s work demonstrates just how potent this sort of cutting-edge mocap work can be when an actor truly commits to the process. Jones is a fascinating monster, but he has a soul, and in this film, we probe deeper into what made him into the beast he is. In fact, many of the ideas that were introduced in DEAD MAN’S CHEST are resolved here, but many go unexplored as well. It’s strange to say that a film with a three-hour running time feels rushed, but the script is basically an embarrassment of riches. I understand the urge to make these movies back-to-back, and I’m sure in the end, it’s the only way an endeavor like this is affordable. But after seeing the MATRIX trilogy and this one, I think this sort of series is better served by taking the time to craft each chapter in the series individually. Just a little more time to shape this script could have resulted in Elliott and Rossio having to make some hard choices about what to focus on, and that little extra focus could have helped. There are certain ideas that were introduced that never quite resolve here, like the history between Beckett and Sparrow or the ultimate nature of Calypso, the ocean goddess whose love damned Davy Jones in the first place.

What I’ve noticed is that, like the MATRIX films, these movies are set up to reward repeat viewings. I don’t find them remotely confusing, except in the ways they’re meant to be confusing. When you have pirates who are making deal after deal after back-stabbing deal, setting up one double-cross after another, I think Elliott and Rossio know full well that the audience is going to end up dizzy from all of it, just as the characters onscreen do. This film plays darker than the first two films in the series, but that doesn’t mean it abandons the almost Pythonesque joy of the absurd that has marked the series so far. The humor in this film is more like the sly wit of the first movie and less like the cartoonish abandon of the second. There was really only one thread that I felt botched the humor, and that involves two Redcoats who find themselves desperate to switch sides during the film’s climactic battle. They could have easily ended up on the cutting room floor without anyone noticing their loss, and with so much going on involving the characters we do care about, it just seems like fluff when we’re more interested in genuine payoff.

And, yes, the ending of this film is gigantic, the sort of spectacle that seems to only be possible in this new digital age, on a staggering scale. Here’s where Verbinski proves himself to be one of the more able orchestrators of mayhem working today. He manages to make everything feel frenetic, but there’s an impressive visual clarity to the way he stages things. Even with eight or nine major characters and a host of supporting players all involved in the final sequence, I never lost track of anyone. I never felt like I was unclear about what was going on or where people were. And he doesn’t just stage things in an understandable way... he also finds all the small moments of visual humor, and he remembers to make things iconic, larger-than-life. Verbinski knows that he has to delivers sights you’ve never seen before, and he does, one after another. It’s impressive work, and having seen how well he can handle a small drama like THE WEATHER MAN or an oddball dark comedy like MOUSE HUNT, this simply confirms him as one of the more interesting guys in the mainstream today. In a way, PIRATES 3 made me sad that Terry Gilliam’s undeniable genius makes him so prickly and impossible to work with. If he were just a few degrees less brilliant, then maybe we’d be enjoying his work on a canvass this vast instead of watching him flounder from failed project to failed project, frustrated, held back.

The film’s conclusion is perhaps the most canny move it makes. It resolves the story of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in an unexpected way that gives the characters soul I’m not sure they ever had until this film, and it resolves the Jack Sparrow story in a way that is perfectly fitting and fun. Sparrow is not the lead of these films. He’s the textbook definition of a supporting character. He doesn’t change or grow or learn in these films, and he’s not supposed to. Jack Sparrow is the yardstick by which Will and Elizabeth measure their own heroism or failures, and he rubs off on them quite a bit. They both change dramatically by the time the credits roll, and they find themselves in a place that beautifully pays off that first scene in the first film. Make sure you stay till the very end of the credits, too. Every film in this series has featured a brief moment after the credits, but for the first time, it’s no joke. Instead, this film offers up a heartbreaking coda that I found quite moving. There are certainly ways that there could be more movies with these characters made in the future, but there don’t need to be. If this is the last we see of Will and Jack and Elizabeth and the rest, then we’ve left them in the exact right places. And the fact that the film closes as well as it does counts for quite a bit with me. It seems like so many blockbusters these days shit the bed when it comes to the endings, but PIRATES 3 gets that as right as it gets anything. And even a review as long as this one doesn’t really get into the myriad pleasures here. I haven’t even touched on Jack the monkey or the frozen toe or Sparrow’s hallucinatory scenes with himself or the true face of Davy Jones or Captain Teague (a scene-stealing Keith Richards, so good I’d watch a whole movie about his character) or the rest of the batshit crazy Pirate Lords. As far as I’m concerned, this is the first movie so far this summer to really live up to expectations, and I’m confident that audiences that have enjoyed the series so far are going to enjoy this as a worthy final chapter for the time being.

I’ve got an interview coming soon with the writers of this series, and it’s one of my favorite interviews I’ve done in a while. I’m still transcribing it, and it ventures into spoiler territory, so I’m going to hold off until the movie’s open and you’ve had a chance to see it. In the meantime, I’ve got at least four more articles for you before I leave town on Memorial Day, and with my birthday coming up this weekend, it’s going to be busy here at the Labs.



Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles

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Reader Talkback

Mori, that's the review that I wanted to read.
by beastie
May 24th, 2007
07:43:58 AM
Eight year olds dude...
by just_hamish
May 24th, 2007
07:54:24 AM
Like the MATRIX films!
by filmcoyote
May 24th, 2007
08:05:39 AM
Good review Moriarty :)
by bowtiehoon
May 24th, 2007
08:08:59 AM
Fair Enough...
by TheRealMoriarty
May 24th, 2007
08:09:30 AM
Hey Moriarty.. Happy Birthday.
by Diagnostic
May 24th, 2007
08:18:05 AM
It can't be good. It's CONFUSING!!!
by DerLanghaarige
May 24th, 2007
08:35:38 AM
PS: Good review!
by DerLanghaarige
May 24th, 2007
08:37:57 AM
Yay
by Kragmose
May 24th, 2007
08:37:59 AM
meh
by Sandinista
May 24th, 2007
08:38:30 AM
Can't Wait....
by TiNSeLToWN TeRRoR
May 24th, 2007
08:53:25 AM
Hope it's good
by Solby
May 24th, 2007
09:00:36 AM
You're only fooling yourselves...
by Mr Gorilla
May 24th, 2007
09:07:37 AM
Yea but...
by Solby
May 24th, 2007
09:13:19 AM
"the ending of this film is gigantic, the sort of...."
by tmifune78
May 24th, 2007
09:39:17 AM
How can you call these films plot-less?
by Dr Gonzo
May 24th, 2007
09:40:48 AM
Too Long
by Mr Bonefish
May 24th, 2007
09:41:12 AM
Christ...
by Datascream
May 24th, 2007
09:51:25 AM
Mori - Matrix
by filmcoyote
May 24th, 2007
09:57:05 AM
jfp2006....
by tmifune78
May 24th, 2007
10:40:49 AM
All the AICN editors liking this film makes me nervous
by IndustryKiller!
May 24th, 2007
10:45:42 AM
CHUD just killed this
by jabbathegriffin
May 24th, 2007
11:06:01 AM
Nice Review, as usual.
by Turd Furgusen
May 24th, 2007
12:03:42 PM
IndustryKiller!
by Sandinista
May 24th, 2007
12:05:43 PM
Sounds awesome, Mori.
by superninja
May 24th, 2007
12:23:28 PM
Well, a lot of filmmakers use CGI as a crutch.
by superninja
May 24th, 2007
12:33:19 PM
"killjoy critics"
by newc0253
May 24th, 2007
12:45:09 PM
Yeah, they seem well written and well thought
by superninja
May 24th, 2007
01:02:43 PM
Sorry, more repeat viewings than the first.
by superninja
May 24th, 2007
01:03:18 PM
The first film laid the groundwork for part 2.
by superninja
May 24th, 2007
01:04:34 PM
Hells Yeah Mouse Hunt
by Bungion Boy
May 24th, 2007
01:29:38 PM
I'll be there...
by Redrockmullet
May 24th, 2007
01:32:52 PM
Everbody...Chant with me....
by Deandome
May 24th, 2007
01:54:52 PM
I'll enjoy the second film a lot more
by Atomic.Lobster
May 24th, 2007
03:16:56 PM
Spoilers include early scene reveals...
by SoylentMean
May 24th, 2007
03:17:43 PM
Oh and watch The Seahawk and Captain Blood
by SoylentMean
May 24th, 2007
03:22:07 PM
Got my tickets
by the darkman
May 24th, 2007
03:47:16 PM
I love the first two.
by Cameron1
May 24th, 2007
03:49:31 PM
I agree!
by the darkman
May 24th, 2007
03:56:39 PM
Happy Birthday Mori.
by goonie
May 24th, 2007
04:18:26 PM
Harry and Moriarty
by Outrider304
May 24th, 2007
04:59:11 PM
Good review Drew.
by TomBodet
May 24th, 2007
05:02:07 PM
Most of the reviews on this site
by STL Critic
May 24th, 2007
05:34:57 PM
correction on link
by STL Critic
May 24th, 2007
05:35:32 PM
Darker?
by Badger On A Bus
May 24th, 2007
06:03:58 PM
It's not that they're confusing....rather, confused.
by WONKABAR
May 24th, 2007
07:23:57 PM
Brilliant Opening Scene
by lmoose
May 24th, 2007
09:16:22 PM
These films remind me of the densely plotted books
by Bronx Cheer
May 24th, 2007
09:27:05 PM
And Happy Birthday, old man.
by Bronx Cheer
May 24th, 2007
09:28:07 PM
But please, that red-on-white is rough on my old eyes!
by Bronx Cheer
May 24th, 2007
09:40:54 PM
"a few degress less brilliant"? Really?
by Drath
May 24th, 2007
10:10:54 PM
just got back, liked it a lot
by wcoop893
May 24th, 2007
10:37:26 PM
I've only read bad reviews outside of AICN
by jimmy_009
May 24th, 2007
11:06:00 PM
no one should have to see
by dragon-lord
May 25th, 2007
12:31:44 AM
Just saw it - It goes nowhere
by Dr.Sonus
May 25th, 2007
01:17:03 AM
Did anyone else catch the Disneyland Reference?
by darshn22
May 25th, 2007
02:13:59 AM
Saw it last night
by yodalovesyou
May 25th, 2007
02:21:22 AM
I just got back!
by the darkman
May 25th, 2007
02:27:34 AM
Another thing.
by the darkman
May 25th, 2007
02:28:12 AM
What's the scene after the credits?
by Darth Twoface
May 25th, 2007
02:30:15 AM
Got back a while ago
by luckylindy
May 25th, 2007
02:47:20 AM
Audience I was with clapped.
by inhumans99
May 25th, 2007
03:06:15 AM
BEST FILM EVER
by Eaglet1138
May 25th, 2007
03:07:41 AM
THIS REVIEW NEEDS A SPOILER TAG!
by J-Dizzle
May 25th, 2007
03:19:34 AM
The monkey and Sparrow owned this film
by Jugs
May 25th, 2007
03:28:11 AM
FF 2 will suck hard compared to this
by spectrebeeyatch
May 25th, 2007
05:35:23 AM
Don't Get Fooled Again
by Roboteer
May 25th, 2007
05:50:42 AM
Solid but get out the scissors already!....
by wildphantom07
May 25th, 2007
06:00:46 AM
CGI Has Come Of Age?
by Pan_Krator
May 25th, 2007
06:14:24 AM
I've seen this soulless, over-plotted, CGI-laden crapfest.
by YackBacker
May 25th, 2007
07:36:41 AM
tara brady from hot press
by emeraldboy
May 25th, 2007
09:09:03 AM
I'M GOING TO SEE IT RIGHT NOW!!!!
by jig98
May 25th, 2007
10:55:47 AM
!st...
by the darkman
May 25th, 2007
11:23:51 AM
The whole theater was blown away
by fish tacos
May 25th, 2007
11:26:49 AM
did I see a different movie?
by jccalhoun
May 25th, 2007
11:27:24 AM
The best part of seeing this opening night:
by MCVamp
May 25th, 2007
11:32:01 AM
By the way...
by MCVamp
May 25th, 2007
11:36:11 AM
As someone who loved the first two...
by waggy
May 25th, 2007
12:26:56 PM
Loved it.
by DarthMusashi2112
May 25th, 2007
01:45:31 PM
jccalhoun, No you didn't
by Dr.Sonus
May 25th, 2007
02:11:35 PM
I have to say that it's a
by Wed Vid Guy
May 25th, 2007
03:32:49 PM
Jack and Jones sword-fighting on the mast
by YackBacker
May 25th, 2007
03:39:34 PM
That's how I felt about Pirates 2 Yackbacker......
by RighteousBrother
May 25th, 2007
04:50:45 PM
Come back, Spidey, all is forgiven
by BeatsMe
May 25th, 2007
05:42:09 PM
Good, but not great.
by Gorrister
May 25th, 2007
09:35:07 PM
BEST. MOVIE. EVER.
by jig98
May 25th, 2007
09:49:02 PM
Needed more Davy Jones.
by superninja
May 25th, 2007
10:44:58 PM
Yack, yeah, they overdid it. Not just the mast
by superninja
May 25th, 2007
10:48:04 PM
Not to say I was disappointed since I knew what
by superninja
May 25th, 2007
10:51:54 PM
Hated It
by grievenom
May 26th, 2007
04:45:17 AM
Read something interesting on Wikipedia
by Ozy
May 26th, 2007
05:29:58 AM
The audience I saw it with seemed bored to tears
by Atticus Finch
May 26th, 2007
06:24:16 AM
I didn't even stay for the credits scene
by YackBacker
May 26th, 2007
09:44:10 AM
yackbacker, because he's keith richards...
by jig98
May 26th, 2007
11:15:24 AM
Well slap my ass with a fish, I actually liked it
by IndustryKiller!
May 26th, 2007
12:20:27 PM
lost rules
by the darkman
May 26th, 2007
12:26:54 PM
I love these people
by the darkman
May 26th, 2007
12:29:21 PM
And since I did the same
by the darkman
May 26th, 2007
12:31:09 PM
And the award for most non-commital statement...
by clone-o-mat
May 26th, 2007
01:49:37 PM
Shorter Moriarty...
by Orbots Commander
May 26th, 2007
02:21:09 PM
The more I reflect on it, the more overstuffed gets.
by superninja
May 26th, 2007
02:29:36 PM
They also wussed out Davy Jones. He needed
by superninja
May 26th, 2007
02:35:29 PM
Boring...
by HardNate
May 26th, 2007
03:11:05 PM
Pirates succeeds were Matrix failed in that...
by Yeti
May 26th, 2007
04:20:38 PM
I sent a review of this to my bro and
by emeraldboy
May 26th, 2007
05:15:19 PM
My Mori critique...
by Boober
May 26th, 2007
05:57:19 PM
Okay movie - not as good as the first one...
by anchorite
May 26th, 2007
06:12:21 PM
Saw this today
by Bobo_Vision
May 26th, 2007
06:22:32 PM
Good except for....
by Banky the Hack
May 26th, 2007
08:17:05 PM
Anyone else feel like it was a Terry Gilliam movie?
by anchorite
May 26th, 2007
08:27:17 PM
Calypso - Why Introduce?
by eickhry
May 26th, 2007
08:40:01 PM
Movie lost me...
by Bubba Gillman
May 26th, 2007
11:42:10 PM
That is an accurate portrayal of Calypso from
by superninja
May 26th, 2007
11:56:55 PM
They should've gone WAY over the top with
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
12:01:12 AM
The first summer movie to live up to the hype? HELL NO
by Wcwlkr
May 27th, 2007
12:41:07 AM
See, me? I'm getting a little tired of Jack just
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
12:59:45 AM
Loved It
by Acerbic Norseman
May 27th, 2007
01:47:07 AM
Dropped the ball!!!
by spectrebeeyatch
May 27th, 2007
02:14:14 AM
It was still better than Spider-Man 3.
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
02:35:04 AM
First TPM, then Matrix Reloded, now POTC3
by jarjarmessiah
May 27th, 2007
07:00:45 AM
shit
by jarjarmessiah
May 27th, 2007
07:13:25 AM
Well Said
by Evil Chicken
May 27th, 2007
07:34:53 AM
if bruckhiemer says this series is over
by emeraldboy
May 27th, 2007
08:26:48 AM
Over? It aint over until it's over.
by mrfan
May 27th, 2007
11:28:39 AM
somebody is contradicting somebody else
by emeraldboy
May 27th, 2007
12:19:02 PM
critics, Moriarty
by Epleterte
May 27th, 2007
01:13:53 PM
The Kraken being dead wasn't a problem. It's
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
02:23:54 PM
I took it that Jack became truly insane with his
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
02:26:35 PM
I never felt like Elizabeth and Will loved each other..
by anchorite
May 27th, 2007
02:42:58 PM
Yep, I totally agree with you, anchorite.
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
02:55:56 PM
Like I said, I liked what they were doing. I don't
by superninja
May 27th, 2007
03:00:19 PM
Its missing alot of the batshit crazy fun that was DMC
by TallBoy66
May 27th, 2007
05:40:48 PM
Mori gives Pirates a pass but not Spiderman?
by zooch
May 27th, 2007
07:43:00 PM
$112 Million Friday to Monday...
by jimmy rabbitte
May 27th, 2007
09:19:57 PM
By the way, I saw this in "DLP Digital"...
by anchorite
May 27th, 2007
09:28:30 PM
Jimmy, I wish they WOULD make another Pirates movie...
by anchorite
May 27th, 2007
09:29:36 PM
anchorite...
by jimmy rabbitte
May 27th, 2007
09:51:11 PM
jarjarmessiah, council tables can be cinematic
by Drath
May 27th, 2007
10:09:32 PM
I said it before and i'll say it again..
by blindambition238
May 27th, 2007
11:12:10 PM
ps.
by blindambition238
May 27th, 2007
11:16:15 PM
if anybody is disappointed with 122 million dollars
by slappy jones
May 27th, 2007
11:39:19 PM
DLP Cinema...
by GravyAkira
May 28th, 2007
12:42:29 AM
Soul mates, schmoul mates. They weren't acting
by superninja
May 28th, 2007
12:48:42 AM
Still love DMC. Davy Jones was great.
by superninja
May 28th, 2007
12:51:38 AM
wish i could find a screen cap of calypso...
by blckmgk13
May 28th, 2007
02:02:15 AM
Oh the pain of this...
by SG7
May 28th, 2007
03:22:12 AM
Good point, SG7
by YackBacker
May 28th, 2007
09:42:48 AM
Finally
by Kragmose
May 29th, 2007
07:40:30 AM
Terrible and silly.
by MynameisColm
May 29th, 2007
07:44:12 AM
You know...
by Borgnine JR
May 29th, 2007
08:27:00 AM
WAY TOO SILLY FOR IT'S OWN GOOD!
by Orionsangels
May 29th, 2007
03:17:27 PM
Dead On!
by lagomorph
May 30th, 2007
11:09:58 AM
They should have cut the first two hours.
by Strajder
May 31st, 2007
01:49:38 AM
Orionsangels
by Strajder
May 31st, 2007
01:54:08 AM
I don't think Will is coming alive, though.
by Strajder
May 31st, 2007
02:40:14 AM
Good movie.
by TomBodet
Jun 2nd, 2007
02:26:05 PM
Crabs
by stultified
Jun 3rd, 2007
07:50:44 AM

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