Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

In the initial installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, director Gore Verbinski and his writers successfully camouflaged the fact that the film was inspired by a theme-park attraction by crafting a solid story with engaging characters. The second Pirates enlarged the scope and beefed up the special effects. This three-quel, sadly, completes the inversion: the story (such as it is) now exists only to serve the effects. Generally speaking, At World's End revolves around a coalition of pirates—led, most improbably, by feisty Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley)—who are attempting to revive the slain Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and free him from the control of the dreaded Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Elizabeth's primary aide here is Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush duplicating his scenery-chewing turn in the series opener), while her sweetheart Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is essentially demoted to a supporting character who is off-screen for long periods of time (incidentally, the much-hyped appearance of the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards as Sparrow's dad turns out to be no more than a cameo). At World's End, which clocks in at 168 minutes, isn't a total disaster (most fans will find satisfying touches sprinkled throughout), but the film fails to fulfill the series' early promise, leaving most viewers with the hope that this truly is the End. Optional. [Note: Available in either single disc or “2-Disc Limited Edition” versions, DVD extras on the “2-Disc Limited Edition” include five “Masters of Design” production design featurettes (26 min. total), “Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom” (20 min.), “The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer” (11 min.), “Bloopers of the Caribbean” (6 min.), “Keith & the Captain: On Set with Johnny Depp and the Rock Legend,” “Hoist the Colours” on the titular song (5 min.), “The Tale of the Many Jacks” behind-the-scenes segment (5 min.), “The World of Chow Yun-Fat” on the actor (4 min.), two deleted scenes with optional commentary (3 min.), nine “Inside the Brethren Court” brief character profiles, Easter eggs, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a bloated film.] (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review— Sept. 30, 2008—Disney, 169 min., PG-13, $34.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End sports an excellent transfer with English 5.1 uncompressed sound. The bonus features on this release are almost identical to those on the standard DVD release, including five “Masters of Design” production design featurettes (26 min. total), an “Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom” featurette (20 min.), “The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer” featurette (11 min.), “Bloopers of the Caribbean” (6 min.), “Keith & the Captain: On Set with Johnny Depp and the Rock Legend,” “Hoist the Colours” on the titular song (5 min.), “The Tale of the Many Jacks” behind-the-scenes segment (5 min.), “The World of Chow Yun-Fat” on the actor (4 min.), two deleted scenes with optional commentary (3 min.), nine “Inside the Brethren Court” brief character profiles, Easter eggs, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the “Enter the Maelstrom” interactive immersive tour featurette. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray release of the flawed third film in the popular Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, this is also newly available in the Blu-ray boxed set Pirates of the Caribbean Three Movie Hi Def Collection, priced at $82.99.]