While not as charmingly spectacular as the original neither is it as dismal as the 2nd installment. It is good summer fare with some weak points. It is missing the wit that made the first one so good, plus where they left out the artistic movements in "2" they overdosed on them in "At the World's End." The plot was kind of lackluster and had way too many loose ends. But the acting and effects are still solid and the fight scenes were numerous and nicely done.

Plot: This one picks up where the 2nd installment left off. We still have Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman to deal with only now the English are in control of them. Jack needs rescuing from the land of the dead. The pirates of the world are calling a council because the Flying Dutchman is taking them all out under the command of the British. Elizabeth and William have their tiff to work out and William's father needs rescuing from the Dutchman. This is a tall order for one film, which is why this movie hits somewhere around the 2.5 hour mark. Can we get it all done in a satisfactory manner? Or has the time of the pirates come to an end? That is for you to decide when you watch the film; you will find no spoilers here.

Because so much is going on in the plot it sometimes seems unorganized or unfocused. And the writers took some real heavy artistic license to get some events done. Plus there are several holes in the plot which are never filled or explained. Perhaps because they tried to do too much in one film and didn't have time to deal with everything in the plot that needed dealing with.

The effects are good. Lots of CG but nicely done. There are plenty of explosions and battles all nicely done and choreographed as well. Now they did add some artistic moments that seem to be pointless and to take up unnecessary time. They were not necessary shots made cool therefore adding to the film; they were unnecessary shots to be cool therefore distracting from the film.

The acting was good. Johnny Depp makes an awesome pirate as we well know. He is not as funny or as interesting in this film as he was in the first two. He is slipping a bit--but he is still a pretty nice pirate. Keira Knightley hasn't strayed from her persona as Elizabeth Swan. She is still the forward, strong female we have come to expect from the first films. William Turner, Orlando Bloom, has changed a bit. He, again, finds himself breaking his moral code in order to help his father and he may face the biggest challenge/decision of them all. I have been a bit disappointed in his character. He has been a loose character, changing but not actually developing either. Geoffrey Rush is back as Barbossa. He does a smashing job and actually has some of the better lines, I think. Jack Davenport is back as Norrington but has a relatively small part but holds true to characters as does Elizabeth's father (Jonathan Pryce) who also has a small part. All of our other favorite pirates are in attendance as well each giving the performance we have come to expect of their characters. All in all the acting was good.

Overall, this is an okay movie. A good one for a Saturday or Sunday matinee, but I wouldn't pay full price. It’s a decent summer movie. And it gives the audience a good time even though it is a bit longish.


Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Plot