POTC 3

My best friend and I decided to take a trip to the theatre last weekend to see a little Johnny Depp action. Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End seemed to tickle our fancy so we got our tickets...and away we went.

I've been a fan of this franchise since its beginning in 2003. Pirates seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for the movie industry. The second movie, Dead Man's Chest, was an adequate segway into a 3rd, and possibly final, chapter in this Disney money maker.

This summer is the season of thirds. Spider-Man 3, Shrek the 3rd, and now Pirates 3 have all snagged the number one spot in their opening weekends. But for me, Pirates is the only one worthy of the title spot.

Spider-Man, as seen in my previous post, was completely lacking. Hollow humor and patching storylines sunk this beast. Shrek, well we haven't exactly talked about it, but was more or less bitten by the same "Spider". Less humor, patchy story, and surfacing characters left me disappointed with the less-than-jolly green giant.

Pirates, however, delivered. And while other magazines and critics (namely the lovely writers with Entertainment Weekly) may disagree with me, I found the story and the characters up to par with the rest of the films. We begin where we left with the last film. Cap'n Barbossa back from the dead and leading the hap-hazard crew on a quest to rescue Capt. Jack Sparrow (who has gone a bit cuckoo during his solitary confinement to Jone's Locker). After rescuing a rum-less Jack they proceed to call together the Pirate Lords to defeat Davy Jones and the East India Trading Co. (who has now acquired the heart of Jones and is using it to control him and his monster, the Kracken). Big fight...blah blah..and I wonder who wins...

What I loved about this movie was the continuity of the storyline. It wasn't a completely different plot, it was more like...well let's put it this way. At the end of a TV series during the finale they usually leave you with this big elaborate cliff-hanger. Which, in essence, is what the writers did with Dead Man's Chest. Then at the beginning of the next season we pick up and have all our questions answered. Same thing with POTC 3. No rocks left unturned in this feature. We see everyone accomplish some sort of goal. Jack and Barbossa get their boat back, Will saves his dad, Elizabeth grows a back-bone. An all around good time is to be had by everyone.

My one major beef was the violence. I mean, this is still a kid movie right? We see 2 people get shot directly in the head, very graphic. I just don't understand the raitings board I guess, but other than that I enjoyed this film. It wasn't the best chapter, but it definitely wasn't the worst.

JackScore: 3 out of 5 stars