Movie Review - Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - At Worlds End

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - At World's End

Yesterday, I went to watch the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean at Satyam Cineplex in Patel Nagar, New Delhi. It surprised me to see the movie hall half empty on the first weekend. Here is my review of the film -

Pirates of the Caribbean 3- At Worlds End - 6/10 - This movie was good but not as good as the other two. I had to keep explaining parts of the movie to my friends as the storyline was quite confusing and unclear. Johnny Depp's role was not very big and he had'nt been given funny dialogues like last time. Most of the film has been taken up by Keira Knightly, Captain Barbosa and Calypso which was real boring. Another thing was the CGI action sequences. They were good, but I'd rather watch some real sword fights, duels and stunts in natural surroundings (tropical forests or beaches) like the previous Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I've had too much of CGI fights - they all seem the same and go on for ages. Other than that, I liked the shooting locales and the romance of the lores and myths of the sea. This film is darker and more gruesome than the others.

Here is the story of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (POTC) - At World's End

After getting the heart of Davy Jones in the previous POTC movie, the British East India Company starts clamping down on pirates. Davy Jones and his ship ' The Flying Dutchman' are forced to work for the East India Company and help them nab other pirates through treachery. Everyone who has helped a pirates, even kids, are hung to death.

Bill Turner (Orlando Blooom) makes a deal with the company to secure the Black Pearl for them in return for the freedom of his father who is becoming a part of the 'Flying Dutchman'. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) and Captain Barbossa go to seek the help of some Chinese pirates to rescue Jack Sparrow from 'The World's End'. They believe that he is the only one who can save them from the might of the East India Company.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is with the 'Black Pearl' ship at the 'World's End' which is a sandy desert area . He is hallucinating with many copies of himself. He finally makes it back to the sea with the help of some crabs who push his ship to the ocean's edge. There he meets up with the others who went over the 'World's End' waterfall to rescue him.

There is a convention of nine groups of pirates at Shipwreck Island where plans on how to fight the East India Company will be drawn. Barbosa, Sparrow and the Chinese pirate are three of the nine, so they all head to Shipwreck Island. However, there is a traitor amongst thier midst. The chinky pirate is betrayed and makes Keira Knightly the captain of his ship before dying. When they meet up at the convention, they have to decide to either release Calypso (the goddess of the sea who is bound in human form) or fight. They end up doing both. Here Keith Richards (the guitarist of Rolling Stones) puts in a short appearance as Captain Jack Sparrow's father.

Elizabeth Swann is elected King of the Pirates by Jack Sparrow. Lots of betrayals and treachery takes place and the CGI storm and whirlpool action sequence begins. Somewhere in the middle of the fight, Bill Turner and Elizabeth Swann are married by Captain Barbossa. Jack Sparrow steals Davy Jones heart from the guards of the East India Company. Bill Turner stabs the heart of Davy Jones and becomes the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Together, the crew of the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl shoot down the ship of the East India Company and win the battle.

The funniest part of the movie - When the turbaned Sardarji pirate (one of the nine captains at the convention) starts yelling in an unsuitably high pitched voice. That drew whistles from the crowd. It was also a factual error - Most Sardarjis in India (Sikhs) are located in the state of Punjab which is a landlocked area far away from the ocean. It is impossible to believe that a Sardarji could ever be a pirate or drive a ship....ha ha ha!

There is plenty of scope to make a Pirates of the Caribbean 4 movie as the movie ends with all of them going in search of the 'Fountain of Life'. All in all, it was a fun popcorn movie. I'd recommend it for folks looking for a fun weekend.

Anyone who had trouble understanding parts of the script are free to ask me ! If Pirates of the Caribbean were to be remade in Hindi by me, I would cast Salman Khan as Jack Sparrow, Esha Deol as Elizabeth Swann and Akshaye Khanna as Bill Turner. What about you - any choices ? Have you seen this movie ?