Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Collector’s Edition)

Avast ye mates, Jack’s back, and did ye ever doubt the return of Cap’n Jack Sparrow? Johnny Depp once again transforms himself like no other actor in Hollywood can. It doesn’t hurt that he wears the persona of Jack Sparrow with the ease of a well worn favorite hat. In this case it be the unmistakable chapeau of Disney’s favorite pirate. At World’s End is the third and final entry in the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy. If and when we’ll ever see Sparrow again is anybody’s guess, but I’d lean toward the likelihood that he will return, albeit not that soon and with an almost completely new supporting cast. But that’s not the question that was on most of our minds going into At World’s End. Does the film hold up well against the other two movies? The answer is a somewhat complicated yes… and no.

The film opens with a quite grisly mass hanging involving a child that was more than a small surprise for me coming from a Walt Disney Production. No question it is effective and lets you know immediately that this is a darker movie than the previous two. At World’s End continues pretty much exactly where Dead Man’s Chest left off. Sparrow’s not so faithful comrades Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) have engaged the help of sorceress Tia Dalma (Harris) to bring back Jack Sparrow (Depp), sent to Davey Jones’ Locker by none other than Swann herself in the previous film. To lead this expedition, Dalma resurrects the villainous Barbossa played to perfection by Geoffrey Rush. What follows is a rather convoluted series of bargains and betrayals that are honestly a bit hard for one to follow. You can’t tell the player sides without a scorecard.

There are also two completely ridiculous scenes with multi Sparrows engaging in some existential claptrap that not only slows down the pace of what is otherwise an action packed rollercoaster ride, but the scenes remove the audience unnecessarily from the adventure for what is clearly self-indulgent playtime. Amid the multiple plot twists there is a Pirate’s Council which consists of the 9 pirate lords, of which both Barbossa and Sparrow are members. It is here that the much anticipated cameo by Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards occurs. Disney has considerably backed off of the hype originally planned for the occasion when Richards made a statement he later labeled a joke that he had snorted his father’s ashes mixed with cocaine. Richards was also responsible for a production delay when he injured himself, allegedly due to booze or drugs. Richards plays Depp’s father. The cameo was the result of Depp revealing that he based the nuances of his Sparrow character on Keith Richards. Anyway, it is at this council that more twists and turns reveal that the original council had imprisoned the goddess Calypso, and Barbossa intends to release her in exchange for her favor. Of course, there is the sub plot of the pesky British officers striking a deal with Davey Jones (Nighy) to use the Flying Dutchman to deal a fatal blow to the entire pirate community through the gathering of the council at Shipwreck Cove. There is plenty of the expected swordplay and more than enough impressive CG f/x to move the film along.

There are a number of strong renditions by this gifted group of thespians. Johnny Depp is more than capable of carrying an entire film on his shoulders, but there’s no need here. Bill Nighy is underused in this film, but again brings an incredible performance as Davey Jones that refuses to be hindered by the combination of makeup and CG that makes his facial features nearly unrecognizable. Orlando Bloom is steady as William Turner, giving perhaps the most natural portrayal in the group. I’ve already mentioned Geoffrey Rush, and has there ever been a more convincing pirate. Unfortunately, Keira Knightley shows some disdain for her character and is perhaps already tired of the role. She has a lot to do here, and a stronger job from her would have gone a long way. The wonderful Jonathan Pryce has an extremely limited role here and is almost non-existent throughout the film. Mackenzie Cook and Lee Arenberg continue to provide welcome comedy relief as Ragetti and Pintel respectively. The eye socket joke should have gotten old by now, but somehow it continues to amuse. Tom Hollinder repeats as Lord Beckett. He’s a bit too uptight. I know that’s the character, but he never appears comfortable in the role.Yun-Fat Chow is the better newcomer, playing one of the pirate lords. The film’s opening sequence pits the Black Pearl crew against Captain Sao Feng, and I would rather have liked to see him more involved later on. Instead, his much heralded presence is used merely as a plot contrivance to place Elizabeth on the council.

I can’t say enough about the technical aspects of At World’s End. This is by far the most ambitious of the three in terms of special f/x.The f/x crew threw everything they had into creating a vast explosion of visual stimulation. The amount of eye candy rivals even George Lucas without so often over saturating the film with too much going on that it becomes distracting. All of the amazing creatures from Dead Man’s Chest are back. There are astonishing sea battles, particularly one involving ships fighting around the rim of a maelstrom. If you’re looking for that amusement park ride excitement, these films promise you’ll find that At World’s End delivers.

So what is it I didn’t like about the film? The pace of the story is too uneven at times. The multiple Depp sequences have no place in this film. The story itself is far more complicated than it needs to be. There are so many plot elements racing at us at once that there are times you just stop trying to follow it all. This has the undesirable effect of dulling the impact as these various threads come to their climactic conclusion. This could have been edited down to about 2 hours or so and been a vastly improved film. There are also too many characters and many, particularly newer ones, aren’t given enough time to be fleshed out. I’m sure the actors were often frustrated with how little character development they were given. The result is that there are far more throwaway characters than I’m sure were originally intended. Finally, there were things the film invested a lot of time towards that were never in the end paid off. What happened with Calypso? is one such element. The plan to release her was so important, yet once finally released, she merely disappeared. The entire production had the feel of a project with too many hands in the broth that might have been rushed into completion.

Video

At World’s End is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Understand that this is the kind of film that tends to run the entire spectrum of colors and textures. When appropriate the colors leap from the screen and dazzle you with their intensity. Still, there are moments when shades of grey overcast and dreariness are required, and this transfer switches gears without missing a beat. Black levels are near perfect for an SD presentation. The level of detail is usually so high that you’ll be challenged to take it all in at times. There are absolutely no print defects and just the slightest hint of compression artifact, usually in CG rich dark moments. The film’s tone is overall very dark, often shaded with blue tints. I think they went a bit too far in the original production here, but fortunately the transfer was equal to the task, and you won’t struggle to make out shadows. There is an unforgivable clumsy layer change at 1:12.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is essential to immersing you in this total experience. The Hans Zimmer score is one of his best to date, and this presentation allows it to dance majestically upon each crashing wave of emotion. You won’t miss a beat with the dialog. Although there is often so much going on here, the separation is nearly flawless, so you’ll have no problem catching every word. This is no small feat when you consider that any particular moment could be layered with dialog, crashing seas, thunderous cannons, and riveting music all at the same time. The mix uses all of the surrounds with masterful care.

Special Features

This is a two-disc release with the film on the first disc and most of the features on the second.

Deleted Scenes: There are two very short deleted scenes. The first is merely exposition, but the second is an amusing scene with Barbossa and Sparrow co-captaining the Pearl.

Bloopers and Outtakes: This has become a common feature and is the only one included on the first disc.

The Pirate Maestro – The Music Of Hans Zimmer: Zimmer is undoubtedly one of the best composers working in film today. Certainly his style is distinct. This feature gives us a nice 10 minute look at the ideas that went into the film’s score. The spotlight, rightfully so, is on new music created specifically for the third film. A lot of unconventional instruments and techniques were used to give the score a more other world atmosphere. I was disappointed that there was no mention made as to why Zimmer was hired to replace Klaus Bedelt who did the first movie.

Keith And The Captain – On Set With Johnny Depp And The Rock Legend: This is a 5 minute look at the cameo by Keith Richards. Both Depp and Richards talk about the cameo and how it came about. Richards is provided with a guitar made specifically for the film. Some Richards bloopers round out the more or less Keith Richards tribute.

Anatomy Of A Scene – The Maelstrom: Jerry Bruckheimer takes us along for a look at the film’s climactic sea battle at the edge of a giant maelstrom. While it’s an impressive f/x shot, it was not one of my favorites. There’s a lot layered on here, and the level of detail is not as good as most of the film. The ships are often blurry. You do get a good nearly 20 minute look at all of the work involved to bring it together.

Tale Of The Many Jacks: As you already know, this was about the most useless footage I’ve seen in a lot of years of watching movies. If you are at all interested in how it was done, this is the place.

Masters Of Design: This is a collection of very short pieces on the various craftsman who developed such things as props, costumes, and sets.

The World Of Chow Yun-Fat: Even in the features Chow gets ripped off. This is a very short 4 minute piece on the actor and his part, which could have played a larger part in the film.

Hoist The Colors: The song that the condemned sing in the film’s opening and is later refrained throughout the film is the subject of this interesting combination of music and pirate lore.

Inside The Brethren Court: Another all too short piece on the pirate lords from the film. Because the film wasn’t able to really flesh out these characters, the feature gives you more background. This is stuff that would have been nicer to see played out in the movie.

Final Thoughts

Whenever I go to Walt Disney World, I usually make a beeline for The Pirates Of The Caribbean ride. It’s by far one of my favorites. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I was cautiously optimistic when I heard back in 2001 that a film version was being considered. My reservations were a bit settled when I found out Johnny Depp would play a major character. Still, after watching Eddie Murphy in the Haunted Mansion ride film adaptation, I got sweaty palms. I entered the theatre in 2003 to finally see if I worried for nothing. I had. It was a marvelous ride that paid proper homage to the ride but quickly developed into its own. The second film was a bit too silly for my taste, but again it was a sweet ride. Now the third and possibly final film is out on DVD. You already know my thoughts. By now I’ve very much separated the ride from the film in my own mind, but I’m troubled to hear that the ride has been tweaked to make it more compatible with the film. I haven’t seen the results yet, but that feeling of reservation is upon me again. What does all of this have to do with At World’s End? Pirates Of The Caribbean has become a multimedia franchise. More importantly, it has become a cash cow for Disney. At World’s End seems to have been a turn toward a darker, more adult take on the Pirates Of The Caribbean culture. While I enjoyed the edgy nature of the film, it is my hope that the franchise will continue, at some point returning to the more carefree days of the first movie. As for the ride, maybe Disney or Upcomingdiscs.com will send me on a fact finding mission to see how the two media have been integrated. If so, you can count on me to report back with all the gory details. Until then, “It’s a pirate’s life for me.”