Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Scott Hardie: “It was ok.”

There's a reason why the phrase "diminishing returns" is often associated with sequels to sequels. After already being given less the second time around, how much less is left to give in the third? The only new elements in this third film (and second disappointment) from the mini-industry cranking out Pirates of the Caribbean movies is the presence of a Rainbow League pirate council, well-paid Chow Yun Fat as a far-eastern pirate, and the quirky afterline as imagined by the rum-addled brain of Jack Sparrow, but only the latter is a sight worth seeing. This movie continues the decline started by the second film, ironically getting more boring as more action is piled on, and the pointless return of Geoffrey Rush affirms that the filmmakers can merely reintroduce old elements without spin and audiences will think that's worth something. As always, the technical teams do a brilliant job, and the rousing Pirates themes have rightfully become the adventure-music standards of this decade. But would it kill them to put in a few more jokes, or demonstrate a sense of wonder about these amazing happenings? Apparently passing three hours of the audience's time is enough.

− June 17, 2007 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply