Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

The third installment of the pirate saga frankly didn't impress me much. The running time is unbelievably excessive due to a lot of unnecessary scenes, along with some completely awkward ones, like the wedding on the ship or almost every scene with Orlando Bloom, who really got on my nerves. In terms of acting, however, the trio of Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy and Geoffrey Rush did not disappoint. In terms of technical workmanship, the film is a spectacle, full of great visual effects and excellent music, for instance the final battle by the maelstrom. All in all, this third part is full of twists and intrigue (that didn't need to be there) and unfortunately, it's not as good as the previous two. (24/10/2010)

The plot twists and the chattiness of the trio of “Pirates” remind me a lot of our glorious parliament. Endless quarrels and fights, here played for the eye of the spectator, here meant seriously; on the outside they appear as irreconcilable rivals, but behind the scenes, out of the public eye, they even toast each other with "pirate rum", at one moment they are falling each other's arms, and the next they could stab each other in the back and nobody would be any wiser. The admirable precision of the production design and visual effects deserves praise, the final battle raises the overall impression a lot, but it's more than two hours long! With all that politics the creators deserve to be flogged. Or better still, they should be condemned to smell Jack Sparrow’s socks for two weeks in a row. (22/12/2007)

One of the most anticipated films of the packed summer of 2007, in which I got a lot of Johnny Depp, a fierce Keira Knightley, the pre-proclaimed Chow Yun-Fat, and finally, after a clearly defined happy ending, we go home. Or not? Pirates of the Caribbean turned out to be an unexpectedly unpredictable work. Things that seemed clear and predetermined ended up a bit different, and the creators, even after getting stuck multiple times in the beginning, finally came up with an unforgettable finale. I admit that, in the first half, I was disappointed, and several times I caught myself thinking that if the whole movie ended in a similar manner, I would consider the entire third part of the series a missed opportunity. The dialogue was occasionally truly ridiculous and half-hearted, Sao Feng's behavior illogical, and everything was saved by Depp, who confirmed that he will never disappoint. But Gore Verbinski didn't forget to do some directing, and moreover, he brought in semi-god Hans Zimmer to collaborate, who unleashed hell with his variation on Ennio Morricone's compositions accompanying the battle, which lasted almost an hour. The final battle in the whirlwind is an incredible spectacle that takes your breath away, Verbinski manages to keep under control and all the events that frame it, even where other directors would easily lose their teeth (Elizabeth's speech to the pirates). And I wouldn't have believed that the ending of this trilogy would move me to tears before the screening. The Flying Dutchman still sails, and Pirates of the Caribbean won't become a trilogy that will change cinema forever. But few can imitate its entertainment value. (30/05/2007)

Each subsequent continuation of a commercially successful blockbuster usually means that its creators wanted to surpass the previous film by increasing the budget, adding more bombastic action, more special, more of everything, and yet occasionally a film comes along that surpasses its predecessor. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is no exception to this rule. It is a case of screenwriting orgies, where the screenwriters literally went of their way to fit as many "shocking" twists, betrayals of the main characters, and lightning-fast changes in the situation into one film. As a result, the script does not work, and even though it is a comedy, at times it reeks of self-parody. But there is still the bombastic set design with plenty of successful digital tricks, relatively decent action, mutual teasing, and lots of small jokes, which allows me to give it three stars. It is a typical popcorn movie, where it is better not to think much and just perceive the visuals and movement on the screen. Overall impression: 50%. (09/06/2011)

Almost three hours of mismanaged megalomania that has nothing to do with good entertainment. Verbinski couldn't pull off the digital ridiculousness, so he just put scenes together scenes one after the other without any invention. There is an incredible mess between the characters, the backstabbing gets boring after a while, and the amount of perspective inherent in the previous two films is sorely lacking. If it were half an hour shorter, it would be the blockbuster of the year, but this is a pompous bore that grabs your attention only with a reference to Leone and a funny cameo by Keith Richards. (30/11/2007)