Disney’s ‘Pirates’ trilogy ends with a bang

All your favorites — including Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) — are back in “At World’s End,” the third film in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy.

By Cynthia Hager
Poca High School

“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.” This summer, get in the pirate spirit with “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

Ever since last summer’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” viewers have been counting down the days until highly-anticipated movie — the third installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy — would come out. At last, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and his crew have sailed into theaters, bringing the wildly popular trilogy to a close.

The first “Pirates” movie — “The Curse of the Black Pearl” — introduced us to Jack Sparrow, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and others as they searched for a cursed treasure and encountered trouble along the way.

“Dead Man’s Chest” added Davy Jones (Billy Nighy), captain of the Flying Dutchman, to the mix and told of debts to be paid as well as old and new love affairs. It ended with Jack being “killed” by the Dutchman’s sea monster, Kraken.

“At World’s End” starts off in a most disturbing manner. Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander) has sent his troops to capture anyone associated with piracy and have them hanged. A song is sung, called “Hoist the Colors,” which is supposed to trigger a meeting of all the pirate lords at Brethren Court.

The only problem is that one of the lords is — you guessed it — Captain Jack Sparrow. So first, our gang must set off to the world’s end — aka Davy Jones’ locker — in search of America’s favorite pirate. After plunging down a waterfall, they finally reach Captain Jack and regain control of the Black Pearl.

During Jack’s stay in Davy Jones’ locker, all the many facets of his character are revealed. It’s hilarious to see the many different Jack Sparrows having conversations with each other. At one point, they’re all giving their opinions on what to do with a peanut. But it’s a little disturbing that he not only talks to his multiple personalities but listens to them, too.

On their way to the Brethren Court, though, the Pearl is attacked and Elizabeth is captured. But then, the new ship Elizabeth is on also is attacked, and she is taken prisoner again — but not before she’s become captain of the Empress, making her one of the nine pirate lords. Her ex-love, Captain Norrington (Jack Davenport) helps her escape.

Once at the Brethren Court, the pirate lords cannot come to an agreement on a plan of action against Lord Beckett. This is where Keith Richards makes his much-talked-about appearance as Jack’s father, Captain Teague, to remind the pirates to uphold their code. They decide to vote on a pirate king, and every lord votes for himself — except Jack, who votes for Elizabeth. As the new king (queen?), she decides to fight Beckett.

And so the fighting begins.

It’s intense - and the reason for the movie’s PG-13 rating. The fight at the end of the movie is the most exciting, pitting Beckett and the Flying Dutchman crew against the Black Pearl crew. It’s a winner-take-all fight that the movie has been leading up to the whole time. There are excellent special effects with fierce, hard-hitting drama and action.

Amidst the fighting, many important events occur that wrap up storylines from both this movie and the trilogy as a whole. If you want to find out what they are, you’ll have to go see the movie for yourself.

But be warned, the movie is almost three hours long with all the credits and movie previews. However, it doesn’t really feel like you’re in the theater for that long because of all the action. It definitely gives you your money’s worth - most other movies only last half the time at the same price.

Compared to the other “Pirates” movies, the storylines here are more complicated. They can be kind of confusing at times, and even the most die-hard of fans may need a second viewing to sort out all the twists and turns of the movie. But overall, the action and drama make this the best of the three movies.

All our favorite characters are back. Johnny Depp is still funny, odd and eccentric as Captain Jack, and the loss of his character would definitely end the series. Orlando Bloom is still hot as Will, and Keira Knightley gets to show Elizabeth’s strong, tough side, which was a breath of fresh air for the movie.

If you haven’t seen the first two “Pirates” movies and your friends are begging you to go see this one with them, you can see it without watching the previous two, but know that the characters do have history that’s been addressed in the past films and they have secrets that need revealing in this one.

There are rumors of a fourth film, and “Pirates” fans across the globe are keeping their fingers crossed. Both “Spider-Man” and “Shrek” - the other two big no. 3’s out this summer - have announced plans to expand their franchises, so “Pirates’” fans can only wait and hope.

But if it is the last, “At World’s End” is an awesome end to an awesome trilogy, and it’s a movie you won’t soon forget. From humor to tragedy, this “Pirates” flick has got it all. Also, don’t forget to stick around through the credits for an extra scene that you definitely will want to see.