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Release:
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2007, Buena Vista
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Starring:
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Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Chow Yun-Fat
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Director:
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Gore Verbinski
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MPAA Rating:
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[PG-13] action/adventure violence
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Genre:
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Action/Adventure
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Runtime:
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168 minutes
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About the Movie (synopsis provided by Disney)
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In the follow-up to the record-breaking smash 2006 hit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, we find our heroes Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker while the terrifying ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreak havoc across the Seven Seas. Navigating through treachery, betrayal, and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving pirate way, hangs in the balance.
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Our Take
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Commentary by Michael Lee (May 2007)
Audiences who were put off by the multitude of plot details and persistently aimless globetrotting of last year's Dead Man's Chest will be happy to know that At World's End does a much better job at getting to the heart of the action straight away. While the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise does have its share of meandering (a long chain of backstabbing and hidden agendas keep all the key relationships in constant question) and unnecessary narrative (Naomie Harris is good, but does a backstory about the nature of her character really need to be added to the already dense mix?), it still ends up being a memorable and satisfying close-out to the trilogy, full of eye candy and epic action sequences.
At World's End also trumps its predecessor with a wholly entertaining performance from Chow Yun-Fat as Pirate Lord Sao Feng and the return of Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa. The presence of Barbossa, in particular, truly benefits the movie with the way his character embodies the genre's conventions. If you're going to make an action/comedy about pirates, you really need an off-kilter, over-the-top loon who can believably scowl, "Arg! Avast ye matey!"
Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow is as engaging and mischievous as ever, and Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann plays a considerably larger role than she did in Dead Man's Chest, getting involved in pirate affairs on a whole new level. Opening the movie with Elizabeth having her pants comically confiscated also wasn't a bad move.
The visuals remain one of the franchise's strong points (the animation of Bill Nighy as the villainous Davy Jones is still remarkable), with the action culminating in a high wire swordfight between Captain Jack and Davy Jones and a blockbuster nautical battle between two ships caught in a maelstrom. Overall, At World's End provides plenty of what made this Disney series a hit, and when all is said and done, it's a wild, fantastic ride for fans.
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Photo Gallery
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