Writers: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Mackenzie Crook, Lee Arenberg, Tom Hollander, Chow Yun-Fat
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: December 4, 2007

One of the best movies of 2007 will be released in a few days. That movie is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. This movie was one of the best sequels I’ve seen. The heart-pounding adventure and non-stop action that made the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie such a hit is present in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The beautiful swordfight scenes that deserve to be compared to the visual quality of another visually amazing film of this year, Transformers make this movie so much better than its predecessors.

The visual presentation and choreographed scenes are not the only good parts of this movie. The chemistry between the actors is astounding. The director, Gore Verbinski, couldn’t have chosen a better cast for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The storyline is truly entertaining, albeit slightly confusing at times. If nothing else, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End certainly got audiences talking, with its unique ending and possibility for another sequel with or without some of the primary characters of the first three films.

Release Information:
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was first released in theaters on May 25, 2007. The movie had the second highest box office at the time of its release with only Spiderman 3 ahead of it. It opened in well over 4,600 theaters, the most theaters for a single movie opening. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will be released on DVD by Walt Disney Pictures on December 4, 2007.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End DVD is available in a widescreen edition, a two disc collector’s edition (which is what this review covers), a Blu-Ray version, a collector’s pack, and a Best Buy Exclusive Edition with a 7’ Captain Teague Action Figure.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Plot
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End takes over where Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest left off. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is dead set on helping his father, “Bootstrap Bill” be released from the clutches of the evil Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Meanwhile, it is up to Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) to convince pirates from all stretches of the world to team up together and find Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Jack is currently in Davy Jones Locker, which means he is nowhere to be found and he often has frequent hallucinations with hundreds of other Jack Sparrows working on his ship in the middle of nowhere.

With the other pirates and Jack, the crew of The Black Pearl can take on the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones, and Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander). Beckett is using the Dutchman, which he has taken over, to take on the pirates. He plans to rid the sea of any and all pirates for good. Despite many of the pirates disliking Jack, they need him to help in the battle and without all of the pirates teaming up together, this battle seems impossible.

The pirates meet up at Shipwreck Cove, a lot of captain positions change hands, and loyalties are tested. Ultimately, the pirates must elect someone to make decisions for the group, which seems impossible since most of the leaders always vote for themselves. From there, they must find out how to take back the sea and get rid of Beckett and possibly Jones, if they can.

There are a lot of underlying tensions that make this movie so unpredictable. For one, Will and Elizabeth’s relationship is shaky throughout most of the movie. Will lies to try to save his father. He also goes against Elizabeth’s wishes more than once. Another, unlikely romance is between Davy Jones and his former lover, Calypso (Naomie Harris), who is the Goddess of the sea bound into human form as Tia Dalma.

She is the one responsible for turning Jones into a monster, putting the curse (where he and his crew have sea features) on him, and according to Davy it is her fault he was bound to the sea forever though it is unclear whether she was supposed to meet him after ten years at sea to allow him one night of freedom on land or to allow the curse of the Flying Dutchman to be broken. This has been a major debate in the case of the movie’s ending (which I won’t reveal) as the curse has an effect on it.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Nearly all of the versions of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, including this two-disc Collector’s Edition, are available in an anamorphic widescreen format. The video was transferred at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This transfer was near perfect. I noticed no visible flaws that the average person would find. The beauty of the action sequences made this film a masterpiece and the fact that everything is so clear and crisp just adds to the excellence of this movie.

As for the sound, the audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. With the amazing action sequences, the sound comes through loud and clear. The action, the music, the sound effects, the dialogue, and every other sound come together perfectly. This was just a magnificent picture all around and the sound really added to the mood of the film. I didn’t have to adjust my volume. I just let it play out and enjoyed the rest.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There were some bonus features that were included on the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End two disc Collector’s Edition though not as many as one would expect from a special edition DVD. The funniest part of the bonus features were definitely the bloopers. The cast obviously gets along well and they have a lot of fun making these movies. There are also multiple featurettes included in this box set.

The first featurette is called “Keith and the Captain: On Set with Johnny and the Rock Legend”. This featurette discusses the cameo appearance Keith Richards made in this movie. Another featurette is “The Tale of the Many Jacks”, which looks at how the scene with all the Jack Sparrows (in Davy Jones’ Locker and elsewhere) was made. The World of Chow Yun-Fat” is a featurette about Chow Yun-Fat’s role in the third movie. There is also a featurette called the “Making of the Maelstrom Scene”, which is self-explanatory.

Other bonus features on the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End DVD include deleted scenes (with the option of commentary), production design shorts (five features), a “Hoist the Colors” song featurette, a feature on the movie’s score, and a “Pirate Lords” featurette. While I expected more features, there was quite a bit here compared to most movies.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Overall, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was an absolutely amazing movie. From the stunning sets and battle scenes to the top notch acting and imaginative storytelling no stone was left unturned. If you’ve never seen Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End before, make sure to stick around until the end of the credits for a “hidden scene”.

I don’t know why someone wouldn’t enjoy this movie. While the run time was long compared to the average movie (remember how long Titanic was?) it was still amazing nonetheless! I would recommend this to everyone and I can say that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is definitely on our Christmas HOT HOT HOT Holiday List. If you plan to purchase this movie, there is no better time than the present.

Overall Rating:

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