movie review of pirates of the caribbean 3

Den of Geek

Pirates Of The Caribbean 3: Review

We've finally got off our backsides to go and see it. And our backsides still hurt after three hours of Pirates 3...

• Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
• Share on email (opens in a new tab)

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.  

This year has so far been a bit bleak when it comes to good blockbusters. Still, with Pirates 3 leading a near-weekly charge of big screen releases, there’s still time. So how does Jack Sparrow’s threequel compare to its predecessors? Well, to put it straight…good, but really could have done better. Much better.

The main objection I have is that it just seems that the franchise has run out of steam. Not that it’s a bad film mind you, but in many ways it mirrors what happened in Spider-man 3 with a lot getting squeezed in to its bloated run time. And at times the whole thing seems to have a lot of the cast doing things by the numbers. This is very apparent with Jack Sparrow himself, who over the past two films has been one of the most fresh and fascinating ‘heroes’ in recent film memory. However with Pirates 3 there is so much going on that the character is sort of shuffled off into the background, and even with a surreal David Lynch style rescue from ‘World’s End’ , the fella most have come to see gets watered down to a glamorous bit part.

And that really is the problem with the entire film, there is just so much going on that nobody really gets fleshed out enough for people to care. And major characters from the first two films that are unnecessary to the convoluted narrative of this movie get very treated very badly indeed. There is a cull of characters both figuratively and literally. First of the entire main antagonist from the second film, Davey Jones, is de-fanged, quite literally. While he was a malevolent menace in that film, he plays second string to the bland Lord Beckett and is watered down even further with the offing of the Kraken which unfortunately is done off screen. A pity: I’d have loved to have seen how a pirate ship would have killed a 100ft sea monster.

Ad – content continues below

By comparison to other characters however Mr Jones gets off lightly as Jack Davenport’s Norrington and Jonathan Pryce’s Governor Swann are really the main two victims of this board-clearing act, and both get nothing more than cameos before disappearing into the watery depths of the script edit. This really is just a cheap and bad way to treat the characters and even more so for the actors who just seem to get dumped with absolutely no resolution at all of their respective stories.

With all these losses however we do get a little bit in return, for instance, the gorgeous Naomie Harris for one returns as the morbid voodoo ‘mistress’ Tia Dalma. But again there is a problem as her own story and ‘day-saving history/ powers’ come out of nowhere and seem to have been tacked on for the sake of convenience. They’re a crude way to even the odds against the vastly superior East Indian Trading Company fleet of ships.

We also get to see the introduction of Captain Sao Feng played coolly by Chow Yun-Fat. While his character isn’t as fleshed out as much as it could have been, what screen time he does have isn’t wasted and the little insight we get into his dark world is great, with the highlight being the infiltration into his great ‘den of scum and villainy’. It rivals Princess Leia’s inside job at Jabbas Place, as both are filled full to the brim with oddities, crooks and ner-do-wells hiding away in the background. The same can be said about Keith Richards who, while only being on screen for a few minutes, is a pleasure to behold.

The film also sees the welcome return of Captain Barbossa and it seems that Geoffrey Rush fully embraces the good Captain and loves the role. Being over the top without being hammy this character (and his monkey Jack) are a great addition to the crew. If the House Of Mouse did indeed want to carry on with the franchise without Sparrow and co, then the continued adventures of Barbossa would be a great avenue to explore.

You might have noticed I have forgotten to mention the two main ‘stars’ of the film, the shapely forms of Mr Bloom and Ms Knightley. Well really this film doesn’t really need them at all, as there is so much else going on. Both are made a little redundant. Standing around and looking cool doesn’t make a good character and to be honest they are really just there as eye-candy and to provide a bit of glamour, suntanned flesh and a set of pearly whites amongst the abundance of tentacles, blackened dentures, grime and salty sea men.

The effects on the film are flawless and really ‘act’ a lot better than the aforementioned Bloom and Knightley. With the 250 million plus dollars all on screen there for everyone to see, the money spent at ILM is used wisely with GC galleons aplenty blasting each other to pieces. However the real effect that stands out is once again Davey Jones, who steals the show as one of the best computer generated creations to date. And to give ILM its due, it (nearly) makes up for the pixel abomination that was the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns .

While Pirates 1 was fresh, cool and very unique, and Pirates 2 expanded the mythos and had a cracker of an ending, Pirates 3 sort of falls a little short. Not that it’s a bad film, but with such high expectations I suppose no matter what they put on screen to round off this trilogy people would be disappointed. Make no mistake this is no Matrix sequel and has things amount going for it, but it just seems to not have the ‘wow’ factor of the other two.

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

The weakest of the three, but still head and shoulders over the other franchises that have hit out screens in recent years.

Robert Mclaughlin

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Pirates of the caribbean: at world's end, common sense media reviewers.

Swashbuckling action, but too many puzzling plots.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Elizabeth and Tia Dalma are strong, fearless femal

Characters are hanged -- including a young boy --

Elizabeth and Will kiss passionately. Several scan

Colorful pirate insults.

Nothing in the movie itself, but the entire thing

Pirates love their rum, and once again it flows fr

Parents need to know that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the third installment of the Pirates franchise. It's packed with more death, action, and violence than most superhero flicks -- from the grim opening sequence in which Caribbean civilians (including a young boy) are led to the…

Positive Messages

Elizabeth and Tia Dalma are strong, fearless female characters, and the cast of this movie is much more diverse than the previous two. Despite several betrayals, Jack and Will sacrifice what they want most and act selflessly for the greater good. Jack often acts as though he has no morals or ethics, but he's true to a strange code of his own.

Violence & Scariness

Characters are hanged -- including a young boy -- and their dead bodies are shown in a pile. Lots of pirates, British soldiers, and unlucky seamen are stabbed and blown up -- especially in the final hour. Younger children may be disturbed by the opening gallows sequence and by seeing major characters die.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Elizabeth and Will kiss passionately. Several scantily dressed pirates' mistresses; a couple is discreetly shown dressing after marital sex, but there's no nudity. Captain Jack loves making sexual innuendos.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Nothing in the movie itself, but the entire thing is a giant marketing machine for Disney.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Pirates love their rum, and once again it flows freely.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the third installment of the Pirates franchise. It's packed with more death, action, and violence than most superhero flicks -- from the grim opening sequence in which Caribbean civilians (including a young boy) are led to the gallows to the climactic swashbuckling showdown. Since it's nearly three hours long, younger kids (or those with short attention spans) may not go the distance. And with so many double crosses and betrayals, the plot may even be confusing for adults. That said, thanks to Disney's ubiquitous merchandising and advertising campaigns, even 5-year-olds know who Captain Jack Sparrow is, so chances are your youngest kids will want to see it. But if they do, be prepared for them to wake up with nightmares. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (14)
• Kids say (117)

Based on 14 parent reviews

Good but kind of disturbing...

A bit dark, but still amazing, what's the story.

Captain Jack ( Johnny Depp ) is back IN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END, living in the hallucinatory limbo of Davy Jones' Locker. While he's busy seeing imaginary clones of himself, Elizabeth Swann ( Keira Knightley ), Will Turner ( Orlando Bloom ), and resurrected Captain Barbossa ( Geoffrey Rush ) travel to the Singapore. Their goal is to enlist pirate lord Sao Feng ( Chow Yun-Fat ) to help save Jack and join his fellow captains against the British, who are in control of Davy Jones ( Bill Nighy ) and his Flying Dutchman crew. But that's just the beginning -- basically, everyone's out for revenge. Will must free his father, Bootstrap Bill ( Stellan Skarsgard ), from Davy's cursed ship; Elizabeth finds herself an avenging pirate captain; and Barbossa and the mysterious Tia Dalma ( Naomie Harris ) are also up to no good. But never fear, matey: This is a Jerry Bruckheimer action flick, so everything turns up (mostly) roses. Some major characters die, disintegrate, or what have you, and others are revived. No one quite gets a perfectly happy ending, but at least Keith Richards shows up for a few minutes as Jack's hard-scrabble pirate pop. That tiny bit of perfect casting alone is worth the cost of the ticket.

Is It Any Good?

Even though this series' third and supposedly final adventure is more action-packed than the first two sagas, it's still overlong and bewildering. There's no denying that the billion-dollar Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is wildly entertaining. But Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has so many story developments and double-crossing betrayals that the confusing plot merits an encyclopedic fansite. Even hardcore fans of whodunit mysteries will be puzzled by the number of twists and turns.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what made kids want to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End -- the story or all the product and toy tie-ins. Do kids want something because Captain Jack is connected to it? And does the movie live up to all the hype?

Why is Jack such an appealing character?

Families can also discuss the Pirates franchise as a whole. Do you think there should be a fourth movie or is this one a good finale? Which movie do you like best, and why?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 24, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : December 4, 2007
• Cast : Johnny Depp , Keira Knightley , Orlando Bloom
• Director : Gore Verbinski
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Buena Vista
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 168 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

The Pirates

A Knight's Tale

Best pirate movies, excellent adventure movies for family fun.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

• DVD & Streaming

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

• Action/Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Horror , Romance , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow; Orlando Bloom as Will Turner; Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann; Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa; Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, Chow Yun-Fat as Capt. Sao Feng

Home Release Date

• Gore Verbinski

Distributor

• Disney/Buena Vista

Movie Review

Jack Sparrow is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Capt. Barbossa, Will and Elizabeth from wanting to somehow rescue him. So they acquire fabled Chinese sea charts, pull together a motley crew and sail to the end of the world to find their slurring and swaggering friend—in his own private hell, stranded aboard the Black Pearl in the middle of a dead desert. (That qualifies as dead in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.)

Through a miraculous event—similar to Jack’s fabled turtle ride—Jack makes his way to his saviors and together they discover how to break free from death’s grasp. They sail back to the living where Barbossa calls together the Brethren Court of pirates. He hopes to convince these bloodthirsty leaders to band together and battle Davy Jones, Lord Beckett and the armada of the East India Trading Company.

But all is not as it seems when Will deceives Jack and Jack deceives Barbossa and Elizabeth deceives Will … and on and on it goes. Lies set a number of people’s plans in motion. But the worst of these is Lord Beckett’s. He hopes to send Jack back into Davy Jones’ barnacle-encrusted embrace and violently wipe the pirate nation from the face of the earth.

Positive Elements

Jack gives up what matters most to him to save Will’s life. Elizabeth and Will (in spite of the lying) eventually voice their love and commitment to each other. Elizabeth and her father share a deep love and respect for each other. And her transformation from damsel into fiery leader is now complete, sending a message of empowerment to young women.

When she and Will’s father (“Bootstrap” Bill Turner) speak of Will’s promise to return and rescue dear old Dad, Bootstrap realizes, “If he saves me, he loses you”—and selflessly says, “Tell him to stay away.” Undaunted, Will still strives to uphold his promise.

A man of questionable loyalties makes a final redemptive stand. The pirates have a slightly twisted but noble saying of, “No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.” During a brief cameo as Jack’s buccaneer dad, Keith Richards advises him, “The trick isn’t living forever; it’s living with yourself forever.”

Spiritual Elements

Pirate superstitions both abound and are realized—just as they were in The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man’s Chest . Sacred pirate law books. Cursed ships. Davy Jones. The undead. The not-quite-dead. And the voodoo charmer Tia Dalma, who this time around is tied more directly into a legend about a goddess of death named Calypso. She casts bones in a time of trial and is the focus of an incantation that liberates Calypso from her human prison.

Jack is in a place “off the edge of the map” where only the dead can go. (His afterlife plays out like a psychotic episode.) His rescuers sail over a waterfall, apparently dying themselves, to reach him before beating the system and re-entering our dimension. A supernatural phenomenon then turns the world upside down and brings them back. An occult curse gives a dying man life and damns him for eternity.

Sexual Content

Women wear low-cut tops and skirts that are slit up the thigh. There are a variety of bare-chested pirates. As for the franchise’s jokester love of innuendo, the most obvious one here involves cannonballs dangling from chains.

The Asian pirate Capt. Feng kisses Elizabeth, attempting to force himself on her. Before gaining an audience with a pirate lord, Elizabeth is told to remove all her clothes except for a loose-fitting frock. We don’t watch her disrobe, but later we see pirates peeking up through the floorboards to see beneath the garment.

Will and Elizabeth kiss several times. And after they’re wed—in a scene some will interpret as a morbidly romantic encounter between the living and the dead—it’s implied that they have sex on an island beach. While the two are dressing, Elizabeth puts her foot up on a rock and Will reaches over to grab her bare leg and kiss it.

Violent Content

No surprises. But the violence does ratchet up a smidgeon from movies 1 and 2 . Sword fights. Impalings. Gun blasts. Explosions. They’re all commonplace. Ships are ripped asunder, sending bodies and tons of splintery shrapnel flying. More up-close violent moments include a man being choked as Davy Jones’ tentacles work their way into his head and body through his mouth and nose. Two women are shot at close range, one in the forehead. A beating heart is stabbed. A heavy cannon crushes a man, and a corpse turns up with a stake jammed through its mouth and out the top of its head. A half-man, half-eel creature bites down on a man’s head. Dead men are tied to floating barrels.

The action starts with hundreds of pirate sympathizers being lined up and systematically hanged (then tossed into piles). The nooses are placed around their necks before the camera shifts to show their feet dangling through open trapdoors. (A young boy is among their number.)

A man is shown with a large, raw-looking scar on his chest. Another’s frostbitten toe breaks off in his hand. As Jack and Co. attempt to escape the land of death, they see hundreds of deceased souls floating just beneath the water’s surface.

Crude or Profane Language

The British profanity “bloody” is uttered frequently and combined with “h—.” Many of the pirates’ growled interjections are indecipherable. (Think variations on the classic “arrrgh!”) Discernable sayings range from “slap me thrice and hand me to me mother” to “blimey” to “god’s bucket.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

As would be expected, rum is the swill of choice for many pirates (including Jack on several occasions). It’s tossed back either from a cup or straight out of the bottle.

Other Negative Elements

Everyone lies to everyone else. And they all attempt to justify their actions.

In our reviews of the first two movies, we noted how “cool” they made pirates seem. Nothing’s changed between then and now. Not even the pirate’s creed. Jack and the first mate recite, “Take what you can. Give nothing back.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is one whiz-bang of an action flick. There’s no denying that. The wind is howling, the sails are at full mast and the anchor hasn’t just been hoisted, it’s been pounded into small pieces and loaded into cannons. It’s obvious that the film’s creators ( Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man’s Chest director Gore Verbinski helms this one, too) wanted nothing more than to top everything they’ve done up till now. In fact, they want this film to have more heroes, more villains and a bigger, splashier pirate sea battle than ever a bunch of landlubbing moviegoers saw before.

But as it’s said onscreen, “There’s a cost for what we want most.” To set up all those special effects, the story gets pulverized. After we have the rug pulled out from under us again and again by duplicitous plot twists, we lose track of who the good guys are—if we ever knew to begin with. I started asking myself, “Will anybody do the honest, upright thing?”

Then, after the villains one-up each other with desperately dastardly deeds to demonstrate who has the super-evil-dude market cornered, we aren’t sure who we want to hate, either. And as the messiness mounts, we begin to care less and less about where this aimless projectile of a movie is heading. All that’s left is crash-boom! What was born from an amusement park ride ends up as little else. An almost three-hour boat ride through Disneyland’s pirate world. The monsters moan and the pirates prance and the ship rocks, but Jack, Elizabeth and Will end up meaning as little to us as those theme park animatronics.

Putting aside the romanticizing of piracy, violence and dark spirituality (if you’ve even heard of the Pirates movies, you know those things are all in there), the other cost of selling your soul for a few more big bangs is that At World’s End feels as heartless as its scaly, squirmy-faced villain, Davy Jones. You have to sit through 10 minutes of credits to be shown one brief tender moment that rings true. One earnest soul you might identify with. But that’s like tormenting a parched pirate—stuck in the middle of the land of death—with a single drop of water.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

Latest Reviews

The Fall Guy

Wicked Little Letters

Weekly Reviews Straight to your Inbox!

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, find Jack Sparrow, and make their final alliances for one last decisive ... Read all Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, find Jack Sparrow, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle. Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, find Jack Sparrow, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.

• Gore Verbinski
• Ted Elliott
• Terry Rossio
• Stuart Beattie
• Johnny Depp
• Orlando Bloom
• Keira Knightley
• 1.3K User reviews
• 334 Critic reviews
• 50 Metascore
• 23 wins & 51 nominations total

• Jack Sparrow

• Will Turner

• Elizabeth Swann

• Captain Hector Barbossa

• Governor Weatherby Swann

• (as Kevin R. McNally)

• Bootstrap Bill

• Cutler Beckett

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The most expensive film ever made (at the time), not adjusted for inflation. The budget ran to $300 million. That's more than the budget of all three Lord of the Rings films combined.
• Goofs (at around 10 mins) It's often believed that the founding and naming of Singapore postdate the period in which the films are set. In fact, the name "Singapura" - "city of the lions" - was first given in the fourteenth century.

Captain Ammand : [about Barbossa] Shoot him!

Captain Jocard : Cut out his tongue!

Jack Sparrow : Shoot him and cut out his tongue, then shoot his tongue! And trim that scraggly beard!

• Crazy credits There is a scene at the end of the closing credits: Will returns after serving for ten years aboard the Dutchman, and reunites with Elizabeth and their son.
• Alternate versions There are two versions available, the worldwide theatrical release, and an one edited for the People's Republic of China. Runtimes are, respectively, "2h 49m (169 min)" and "2h 8m (128 min) (Mainland China Censored Version) (China)".
• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Shrek the Third/Once/Even Money/The Wendell Baker Story/Provkoed (2007)
• Soundtracks Only Found Out Yesterday Written and Performed by Keith Richards

User reviews 1.3K

• FilmFanInTheHouse
• Nov 20, 2007
• How long is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End? Powered by Alexa
• What is "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" about?
• Is this movie based on a book?
• Why do some scenes have multiple Jacks?
• May 25, 2007 (United States)
• United States
• akshay movies
• Official Facebook
• Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA (Davy Jones' Locker)
• Walt Disney Pictures
• Jerry Bruckheimer Films
• Second Mate Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $300,000,000 (estimated)
• $309,420,425
• $114,732,820
• May 27, 2007
• $961,691,209

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 49 minutes
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

Filed under:

The Pirates of the Caribbean sequels unleashed a true blockbuster auteur

Gore Verbinski’s Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End are sprawling masterpieces

If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement .

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: The Pirates of the Caribbean sequels unleashed a true blockbuster auteur

With the Pirates of the Caribbean movies more accessible than ever, and a summer season void of blockbusters, this month we’re diving deep into Disney’s swashbuckling series . Grab your cutlass and hoist the colors: here be Polygon’s take on all things PotC.

The Curse of the Black Pearl , the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, more than delivers on a promise of swashbuckling high-seas action, but a surprisingly potent strain of horror runs through the whole thing. The villains, it turns out, are undead pirates who become skeletons under the moonlight. The curse is explored to its goriest extent when our heroes plant a bomb inside one pirate’s body.

All three movies Gore Verbinski’s directed since his final Pirates movie, 2007’s At World’s End , all possess a similar grotesque grandeur, and spin relatively simple premises into phantasmagorias. A Cure for Wellness, in which a man investigates a mysterious rehabilitation center, plunges into the well of gothic horror. Rango becomes a full-blown Western after a pet lizard gets lost in the desert. The Lone Ranger uses a pastiche of spaghetti Westerns as a lens to address Westward expansion and the mythologizing of American history.

But the films may not have happened if Verbinski hadn’t jumped from The Curse of the Black Pearl to second and third Pirates. Backed by Disney, the director and his franchise evolved — less like Pokémon, becoming bigger and stronger versions of the same thing, than the drastic transformation of Tetsuo in Akira . Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End are blown-up, bizarro versions of the movie from which they spawned, having exploded from a rebellious one-off action movie into a gigantic, uncontrollable mass of mutated cinematic flesh. They’re both breathtaking, and still unlike any blockbuster that followed in their wake.

Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End are springboards into the grand wilderness of Verbinski’s imagination. His three films leading up to The Curse of the Black Pearl are a little tamer, in that their unusual elements, like the flickering around Samara in The Ring or the sheer number of crosses tucked into The Mexican , are wrangled in service of the story rather than given free range. But like the first Pirates movie, they have an undeniable undercurrent of eccentricity that’s ultimately what’s most memorable about them. In a movie like Mouse Hunt , Verbinski goes to great lengths to make a hunted mouse’s retaliatory traps terrifying. Like The Curse of the Black Pearl , the movie is more often categorized as one thing — in this case, slapstick comedy — but could easily be classified as horror, too.

The second and third Pirates movies forgo that “but.” Instead, Verbinski begins with the strange details — At World’s End opens with a child being hanged, which seems inconceivable in Disney’s family-friendly world — and molds a show-stopping universe around them. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, who penned the first four Pirates films, are the greater architects of the world, but find a perfect partner in Verbinski and his fascination with body horror, mortality, and revisionist history. His signatures flesh out the universe of the films, too, as some scenes are what I would call “pure Gore.” The scene in At World’s End where the Black Pearl is transported across a desert by millions of crabs was Verbinski’s idea , drawing from the director’s love of Hayao Miyazaki’s work and his desire to break free from “the rules of live-action filmmaking.”

The Curse of the Black Pearl was loosely based on the Disney park ride Pirates of the Caribbean , which first debuted in 1967. The sequels, luckily , aren’t. Though still full of high-spirited action, they turn the first film’s relatively contained nature into a small part of a much greater, much more magical mythos. Suddenly, there’s a much broader, deeper context to the piracy at hand than just two rival captains, taking into account the reach of the East India Company and the colonialism of the time. Plus Dead Man’s Chest ’s half-fish, half-man sailors and At World’s End ’s jaunt into purgatory make Barbossa and his crew’s curse seem like a case of seasonal allergies.

The two films also take place in a fleshed-out world without hewing to the common strategy of leaving things open-ended for possible sequels. Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End were developed concurrently. The fourth and fifth movies in the franchise, which Verbinski didn’t direct, were stabs at moving the franchise onward rather than telling a concrete, contained story, and they clearly suffered for it. On Stranger Tides , which soft reboots the franchise with new lead characters, is particularly weak — there’s too much time spent trying to pump up new characters rather than getting them from point A to point B in an interesting way — whereas Dead Men Tell No Tales benefits from the way it reaches back to the first film to wrap up Barbossa’s story.

Left to his own devices, Verbinski used astronomical budgets (the second and third Pirates movies cost $225 million and $300 million, respectively) to explore his visual and thematic curiosities to their fullest extent, staging the most outrageous sequences possible, and infusing every moment with at least one memorably gruesome detail. Davy Jones in Dead Man’s Chest and World’s End is outmatched in sheer size by the Kraken he commands, but his method of killing people by stuffing his tentacles into their facial orifices is truly horrific. Even one of his minor crew members, Hadras, is made unforgettable by the way his head, essentially a hermit crab, detaches and moves independent of his body. These details were notably born from Verbinski’s unwillingness to go along with the original script’s idea of having Davy Jones’ crew be ghosts, like the villains in the first movie. Verbinski wanted them to be physical creatures, hence their moist, rotting forms.

The exaggeration of that fantastical-but-tangible quality is what makes Verbinski’s big setpieces so striking. The climactic fight in Dead Man’s Chest , a sequence in which Hadras’ disembodied capabilities are revealed, puts Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and James Norrington on a giant spinning wheel. Concurrently, Davy Jones’ crew — the physical manifestation of the anxiousness about mortality that permeated the first movie — chases after Jack’s. Two prizes — a chest and the key that opens it — are in play, and they pass constantly from one set of hands to another. It’s a frantic, kinetic sequence, and a standout in a movie that also includes the Kraken absolutely bodying several ships, as well as a scene where captured crew members must devise a way to escape from giant cages made of bones and suspended in the air — Dead Man’s Chest is the all-traps version of Mouse Hunt .

At World’s End ups the ante by expanding on the historical context, shifting Davy Jones into a secondary-antagonist role and making British colonialism — as embodied by Cutler Beckett and his East India Trading Company — the thing all the pirates are rallying against. “I felt it important that the third film was the end of an era — like in a postmodern Western where the railroad comes and the gunfighter is extinct,” Verbinski said in an interview about the third film. “The myths are dying.” That’s a huge, amorphous idea to tackle, but it takes shape through Verbinski’s penchant for turning old genres inside out. To find a postmodern Western in the depths of a franchise born from a theme-park ride speaks to the amount of ambition the director layers over his pop material.

The big scenes in At World’s End ’s are, accordingly, gloriously ridiculous, and turning an entire ship upside-down in order to escape from Davy Jones’ Locker is just the kickoff. Speaking of the scene where Jack hallucinates a gaggle of versions of himself, Verbinski has said that the movies’ tight timetable didn’t leave much time for studio oversight or interference. “These movies were made 10 months apart, so we had the luxury that nobody really knew what we were doing. So we didn’t have any resistance.” Nowhere is that more clear than in the film’s final monstrous battle. The fight to decide the fate of the pirates is held in the middle of a monstrous storm summoned by a sea goddess, locking ships in combat as they’re dragged through a giant whirlpool. A marriage, several major character deaths, and a heart transplant take place in the middle of it all.

As sprawling as their universe becomes, the first two Pirates sequels are cohesive visions. The lore the films develop, and the tangents they go on, only serve to make the stories richer, rather than leaving loose ends dangling at the end. Dead Man’s Chest is just about retrieving a few key items. At World’s End is about a war. And yet they feel so much bigger thanks to the amount of detail in each. Verbinski is the rare modern filmmaker crafting epics with minimal interference and all the resources he needs. It seems as though getting his outsized passion projects funded is only a concern because the special effects needed to bring his full vision to life are so expensive.

The Curse of the Black Pearl has its share of original, uncanny ideas percolating under the surface and occasionally bursting through the seams, as in the scene in which Elizabeth is introduced to the skeletal nature of the Black Pearl’s crew, whizzing around the ship like a pinball as ghoulish faces grin and grimace around her. But Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End give Verbinski the sandbox to imagine the extremes he’s so fond of, fleshing out an entire world rather than playing in one fraction of it.

And today, they feel like a blockbuster subgenre all their own, with such specific preoccupations and such prodigious scope and action. The closest comparisons come from Eastern cinema, each film playing like a cross between Bong Joon-ho’s genre-bending in The Host and Parasite and the colossal, colorful nature of Chinese blockbusters like The Wandering Earth and Monster Hunt . But Verbinski is in a league of his own, and the Pirates movies are the first significant look at what he’s capable of when unleashed.

Hulu/Disney Plus bundle

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Disney is offering a bundle combining its three streaming services — Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus — for $12.99/month.

• $13 at Disney Plus

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy .

Pirates-gon of the Caribbean

• Pirates of the Caribbean is the ultimate girlhood fantasy
• Elizabeth Swann one-upped Luke Skywalker
• Jack Sparrow, and what happens when a character gets too popular
• A close read and ranking of every one of Elizabeth Swann’s 16 outfits
• Davy Jones is my biggest crush: a blog from 13-year-old me
• Mozart walked so Hans Zimmer could rock the Pirates theme at Coachella
• An ode to Hector Barbossa, the true captain of the Black Pearl
• Debating Pirates of the Caribbean’s best love interest
• Every Disney movie based on a park attraction, ranked
• Designing Orlando Bloom’s pecs: a game developer’s tale
• The one good thing about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Javier Bardem leaking black goo in Pirates of the Caribbean reminds me of something
• My God, the red carpet photos from the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere
• How Disney transformed the Pirates of the Caribbean ride after the movies

Find Family Movies, Movie Ratings and Movie Reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End Parent Guide

The unsinkable threesome (Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley) return for this third swashbuckling adventure. This time Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann set sail to find their pirate pal Captain Jack Sparrow who has been trapped in Davy Jones' locker. But, as is to be expected, the expedition runs into some rough waters.

Release date May 24, 2007

Why is Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

Johnny Depp’s swaggering portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow has parlayed a Disney amusement park ride into a top grossing movie franchise and contributed to a plundering rise in the sale of buccaneer merchandise. The popularity of Pirates even proved captivating enough to lure iconic rocker Keith Richards onto the screen for a minor role as Sparrow’s swashbuckling father. But at nearly three hours long, this bloated sea tale drags on and on, leaving some viewers feeling like they’ve been to the end of the earth and back.

Similar to it’s predecessors, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is jammed with action, frequent and often graphic swordplay, impaling, and aggressive ammunition exchanges between the pirates and the British Navy who, at present, have the upper hand in the war to control the waterways. Secured in a chest on Lord Cutler Beckett’s (Tom Hollander) ship is the beating heart of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). With that organ under lock and key, the tentacled captain and his cursed crew are obliged to help Beckett obliterate every other pirate on the ocean.

After a precarious plunge over the edge of the world, the trio and their shipmates rescue Jack and reinstate him as captain of his craft. However, he isn’t the only victim of treachery and deceit. Unscrupulous behavior runs rampant on the boats like a bad case of scurvy. While intentions are often good, the methods for achieving the ends aren’t always as noble.

Aimed at an older audience, the film delivers feisty characters and plenty of visual activity including stormy ocean battles and sailors who morph into sea creatures or barnacled parts of a ship. Unfortunately the multiple storylines are so intertwined it’s difficult to know what character is on which side. Still, Sparrow’s less frequent use of alcohol and the lack of smoking is an improvement over the last script that families will appreciate. As well, Will’s desire to fulfill his promise to his father, along with some redemptive actions by others, keeps this privateer adventure afloat—even if only barely above the waterline.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Pirates of the caribbean at world’s end rating & content info.

Why is Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End rated PG-13? Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.

Swordplay, guns and cannons permeate the screen in this swashbuckling adventure, making violence the greatest concern for parents who are trying to decide if their child is ready for this high seas adventure. Many characters are shot, with some blood shown (including gunshots to the head). Multiple characters are impaled with swords (this includes depictions of blades penetrating their bodies and protruding out the other side). Other violence ranges from one-on-one fisticuffs to grand encounters between ships. The later results in cannons blasting and dozens of secondary characters being killed and tossed into the sea. An opening scene shows the hanging of many people who oppose the government (although the actual point of death is not shown, piles of bodies are loaded on carts and taken away). Sexual content is limited to a few low-cut dresses and a married couple’s implied encounter. Language consists of a couple of mild expletives and name-calling. Alcohol use is limited to only two short scenes in this episode.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End Parents' Guide

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies have contributed an increased interest in pirates and a rise in related merchandise. In what ways do movies influence trends in society? What impact might Jack Sparrow’s character have on others?

The most recent home video release of Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End movie is December 3, 2007. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 4 December 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End sails onto DVD in a 2-Disc Collector’s Edition. Additional stowage on the voyage includes bloopers, a filmmaker’s audio commentary, and three featurettes: Crew Confidential, Keith & the Captain, and Inside the Brethren Court. On board as well is a short film ( Tales of the Code: Welocked ), which was created exclusively for the home entertainment release. Audio tracks are available in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English and Spanish), with subtitles in Spanish.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is also available in a Blu-ray version.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is also part of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Four-Pack Collection , which releases to home video on October 18, 2011.

Related home video titles:

The adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and his hearty band of pirates begin in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest , then continue in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides . Orlando Bloom who plays Will Turner also stars as an elf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Related news about Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End

Johnny Depp Hopes for Success as Filming Begins on Fifth Pirate Movie

{parents:pull_quote}

10+ Swashbuckling Pirate Movies to Bring Home to Your Hearties

Every 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Movie, Ranked by Rewatchability

"The code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules."

No one expected the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to be a success. The notion of a major studio swashbuckler blockbuster from Disney was ridiculous, as the genre had seemingly died following a series of high-profile flops. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was experiencing a tough time, and director Gore Verbinski 's previous credits included the family adventure Mousehunt and the absurd dark comedy The Mexican . A movie based on a theme park ride starring Johnny Depp , mostly an arthouse star at the time, seemed destined for failure.

Yet, against all odds, Pirates of the Caribbean launched one of the 21st century's biggest blockbuster franchises. Verbsinski brought an epic scope and scale to the first three films, rivaling the ambition of Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Wachowski sisters ' The Matrix saga. The films combined game-changing computer-generated effects, a black sense of humor, and swashbuckling action to create a franchise that felt like no other. The saga's five movies were highly successful and remain popular among fans. However, some Pirates of the Caribbean movies are undoubtedly more rewatchable, whether because of their humor, flawless CGI, character interactions, or a mix of all these elements.

5 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' (2011)

Directed by rob marshall.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides makes the fundamental mistake of making Jack Sparrow a leading character. The first three films understand Sparrow works best as a supporting player alongside Orlando Bloom 's Will Turner and Keira Knightley 's Elizabeth Swann, whose stories are more emotionally compelling. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Times attempts to give more insight into Jack's background by introducing his former flame, Angelica ( Penélope Cruz ); alas, it fails to make him more compassionate.

Although the film boasted the return of Geoffrey Rush 's Barbossa (who has graduated from piracy to commandeering for the British Empire), the new supporting characters left something to be desired. Director Rob Marshall does add a sense of showmanship that fits well within the Pirates of the Caribbean world, creating some memorable horror-adjacent sequences - including one particularly gruesome use of mermaids. Still, loyal fans might feel comfortable skipping this chapter, by far the weakest in the saga.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

*Availability in US

Not available

4 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' (2017)

Directed by joachim rønning and espen sandberg.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales understands the mistakes made with Jack's characterization in the previous film and turns him into the mentor of two younger characters. While theoretically a great idea, the chemistry between the new leads, Henry Turner ( Brenton Thwaites ) and Carina Smyth ( Kaya Scodelario ), wasn't that exciting.

The two characters feel like pale imitations of Bloom and Knightley's roles in the previous trilogy. While Javier Bardem 's Armando Salazar was an interesting new villain, the film's action sequences didn't quite capture the sheer lunacy of Verbsinski's films. However, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales makes up for its early mistakes in the third act . The nostalgic return of several returning characters and a few revelations about their bloodlines serve as a proper conclusion to the entire Pirates of the Caribbean franchise .

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

3 'pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest' (2006), directed by gore verbinski.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a much more ambitious film than its predecessor. While the first film had largely been a simple swashbuckling adventure, Dead Man's Chest had to contextualize the role of pirates within a specific period in Naval History. Jack and his connection with the fearsome immortal warrior Davy Jones (an Oscar-worthy Bill Nighy ) became the centerpiece in a larger conflict between pirates and the East India Trading Company, led by the ambitious Lord Cutler Beckett ( Tom Hollander ).

Nighy's performance as Jones is one of the best works of motion capture ever brought to the screen. The plot becomes needlessly complicated, introducing Will's father and featuring a puzzling quasi-romance between Elizabeth and Sparrow. However, Dead Man's Chest is a crucial entry in the saga, bridging the self-contained story of its predecessor with a new and expansive world , allowing for a larger-than-life finale in the third film.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

2 'pirates of the caribbean: at world's end' (2007).

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ends the trilogy on a high and bombastic note. Combining the political complexity and mythological worldbuilding of Dead Man's Chest with an epic third act rivaling The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , At World's End is the rare summer blockbuster that justifies its extended runtime. The plot features the conclusion of the ongoing battle between the pirates and the East Trading Company and the conflict against the supernatural captain, Davy Jones.

The film isn't afraid to get genuinely surreal. The opening sequence, featuring Jack's crew saving him from Davy Jones' locker, shows how ambitious and idiosyncratic the series is. Comedy is important to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and At World's End has it in spades ; still, it isn't afraid to get genuinely emotional, especially with Will and Elizabeth's romance, the saga's beating heart. Will's final sacrifice feels like a satisfying conclusion to his character arc throughout the trilogy while remaining bittersweet.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

1 'pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl' (2003).

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl may not have the complex worldbuilding of its successors, but it perfectly nails a specific tone unlike any other pirate film. The story centers on young blacksmith Will Turner joining infamous pirate Jack Sparrow on a quest to rescue the beautiful Elizabeth from Captain Barbossa, who stole Sparrow's ship, the Black Pearl, years earlier.

The film revels in the complexity of its characters and presents a unique version of morality when any character could feasibly switch sides. Barbossa isn't as much a villain as he is an anti-hero, and Jack is in the same camp, with his actions frequently proving his selfish ways. Placing more traditionally heroic characters like Will and Elizabeth in the exciting world of piracy allows The Curse of the Black Pearl to ground its absurd adventure with a genuinely compelling emotional relationship echoing classics like Romancing the Stone .

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

NEXT: Popular Trilogies Where The Last Movie Was The Best

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• The Fall Guy Link to The Fall Guy
• I Saw the TV Glow Link to I Saw the TV Glow
• The Idea of You Link to The Idea of You

New TV Tonight

• Doctor Who: Season 1
• Dark Matter: Season 1
• The Chi: Season 6
• Reginald the Vampire: Season 2
• Bodkin: Season 1
• Blood of Zeus: Season 2
• Black Twitter: A People's History: Season 1
• Pretty Little Liars: Summer School: Season 2
• Hollywood Con Queen: Season 1
• Love Undercover: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• A Man in Full: Season 1
• Baby Reindeer: Season 1
• Fallout: Season 1
• The Sympathizer: Season 1
• Hacks: Season 3
• Them: Season 2
• Dead Boy Detectives: Season 1
• Ripley: Season 1
• Sugar: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Hacks: Season 3 Link to Hacks: Season 3
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

100 Best Netflix Series To Watch Right Now (May 2024)

Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Furiosa First Reactions: Brutal, Masterful, and Absolutely Epic

New Movies & TV Shows Streaming in May 2024: What To Watch on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and More

• Trending on RT
• The Fall Guy
• The Idea of You
• Best Movies of All Time
• Play Movie Trivia

Pirates of the Caribbean

Thanks to the efforts of Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and a sashaying Johnny Depp, what was once just a ride at Disneyland has transformed into a blockbuster adventure franchise filled with swashbuckling high-seas thrills.

Pirates of the Caribbean Features

Video: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Jokes

Pirates of the Caribbean   Photos

Pirates of the caribbean videos, pirates of the caribbean movies.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

• Predictions
• Review: John Wick 3 (C) Scott Sycamore
• Weekend Box Office May 17 - 19
• Crowd Reports Avengers: Endgame
• Us Box office comparisons
• Review: Justice League (C) Craig Younkin
• Daily Box Office
• Top Movies of 2014
• Box Office Predictions

Movie Profiles

• Mother of Tears
• Aladdin (2019)
• Avengers: Endgame

Star Profiles

• D.J. Qualls
• Christopher Nolan
• Craig's review C May 31, 2007    It focuses on too much plot and never allows the true escapist fun of the first two movies to fully come out. -- Craig Younkin

Screen Rant

Pirates of the caribbean 3 error that's inaccurate by almost 100 years spotted by expert.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Mike Flanagan’s Next Stephen King Movie Marks A Huge Change From His Last 12 Horror Movies & Shows (We’re Excited)

Melissa mccarthy's new netflix movie replaces a missing scene from her 13-year-old comedy that made $306 million, how did this 27-year-old thriller get declared the best movie ever by rotten tomatoes.

• Pirate expert Iszi Lawrence analyzes inaccuracies in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and points out problems with the movie's opening hanging sequence. Pirates weren't hanged in the Caribbean until later in the 18th century and were instead taken to London to be executed.
• While aspects of the Pirate Council are accurate, the Pirate Code being a little Bible-like book is " completely stupid ".
• The film clearly prioritizes entertainment value over historical accuracy, featuring beasts like the Kraken and fish-human hybrids. It's ultimately more important that a fantastical franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean sticks to its own universe's rules rather than those of real history.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End gets put under the microscope by a pirate expert, and she spots a number of inaccuracies and anachronisms. Based on the popular Disney World attraction, the first film from Gore Verbinski was released in 2003, spawning a franchise that now consists of five films in total. Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End , which was released in 2007, follows Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew as they face off against Davy Jones (Bill Nighy).

In a recent video shared by History Hit , pirate expert Iszi Lawrence breaks down several scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End , finding a number of aspects that aren't quite right.

While certain elements of pirate culture are actually surprisingly accurate, such as the diplomacy on display during the pirate council, Lawrence does take issue with the mass pirate hanging scene at the beginning of the film, as well as parts of the Pirate Code. Check out Lawrence's full comment below:

“Pirates were not [hanged] in the Caribbean until later into the 18th century. They would be taken back to Wapping where they’d be executed there. So, they’d be tried somewhere like Port Royal and then they’d have been taken back to London to serve as a warning to other pirates. “I think actually the way that rope’s to the side of his neck is accurate. That’s where it would have been put. They eyelet would have been just under the jaw as well if he was actually being hanged in the British fashion. That’s definitely an American noose [and not a British noose], which I do not approve of because this is pre-America. “And there weren’t also hanged en masse as far as I know like this. There would have been regular hangings at Wapping. Hangings were an event. People used to go to them. You used to be able to watch. The whole idea was that it would put you off being naughty, but actually it was just entertainment for people. “So, you did have pirate councils. Pirate captains had to make agreements, find out what each other were doing… Also, they wanted to swap crew members and everything else. “The pirate code being represented as a sort of bible is completely stupid. I’m sorry filmmakers. It makes a great story, the idea that they all recognize this mystical book, but that isn’t what the pirate code was. It was a simple agreement that you made boarding a ship, agreeing to be a pirate.”

Do Pirates Of The Caribbean 3's Inaccuracies Matter?

A movie like Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World , which was released the same year as the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, aims to present a grounded and true-to-life depiction of what the life of British Navy seaman in 1805 was like. Inaccuracies, in the case of this film, are a slightly bigger deal because the movie doesn't take place in a heightened, highly fictionalized reality.

Pirates of the Caribbean , which takes place roughly 70 years before Master and Commander , isn't attempting to present a highly-accurate account of what 18th century pirating was like. Instead, the movie is an all-ages romp that's aiming for maximum entertainment value. The franchise is filled with humor, particularly from Depp's Jack Sparrow , and even includes mythological sea beasts like the Kraken. Davy Jones himself is part octopus, sporting a beard that is just tentacles.

While it's certainly interesting as an educational exercise to explore Pirates of the Caribbean 's historical accuracy, mistakes are clearly not a deal-breaker for most audiences considering the franchise's success. The films very much present a unique and highly fantastical version of reality, which evidently means historical authenticity sometimes has to take a backseat to entertainment value. When it comes to the accuracy of something like Pirates of the Caribbean , the movies' adherence to their own made-up rules instead of the rules of reality means that audiences' suspension of disbelief can remain intact.

Source: History Hit / YouTube

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl.

Now streaming on:

There's a nice little 90-minute B movie trapped inside the 143 minutes of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," a movie that charms the audience and then outstays its welcome. Although the ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel, the movie feels like it already includes the sequel; maybe that explains the double-barreled title. It's a good thing that Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp are on hand to jack up the acting department. Their characters, two world-class goofballs, keep us interested even during entirely pointless swordfights.

Pointless? See if you can follow me here. Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp) has a deep hatred for Capt. Barbossa (Rush), who led a mutiny aboard Sparrow's pirate ship, the Black Pearl, and left Capt. Jack stranded on a deserted island. Barbossa and his crew then ran afoul of an ancient curse that turned them into the Undead. By day they look like normal if dissolute humans, but by the light of the moon, they're revealed as skeletal cadavers. Now here's the important part: Because they're already dead, they cannot be killed. Excuse me for supplying logic where it is manifestly not wanted, but doesn't that mean there's no point in fighting them? There's a violent battle at one point between the Black Pearl crew and sailors of the Royal Navy, and unless I am mistaken the sailors would all eventually have to be dead because the skeletons could just keep on fighting forever, until they won. Yes? The only reason I bring this up is that the battle scenes actually feel as if they go on forever. It's fun at first to see a pirate swordfight, but eventually it gets to the point where the sword-clashing, yardarm-swinging and timber-shivering get repetitious. I also lost count of how many times Jack Sparrow is the helpless captive of both the British and the pirates, and escapes from the chains/brig/noose/island.

And yet the movie made me grin at times, and savor the daffy plot, and enjoy the way Depp and Rush fearlessly provide performances that seem nourished by deep wells of nuttiness. Depp in particular seems to be channeling a drunken drag queen, with his eyeliner and the way he minces ashore and slurs his dialogue ever so insouciantly. Don't mistake me: This is not a criticism, but admiration for his work. It can be said that his performance is original in its every atom. There has never been a pirate, or for that matter a human being, like this in any other movie. There's some talk about how he got too much sun while he was stranded on that island, but his behavior shows a lifetime of rehearsal. He is a peacock in full display.

Consider how boring it would have been if Depp had played the role straight, as an Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks (Sr. or Jr.) might have. To take this material seriously would make it unbearable. Capt. Sparrow's behavior is so rococo that other members of the cast actually comment on it. And yet because it is consistent and because you can never catch Depp making fun of the character, it rises to a kind of cockamamie sincerity.

Geoffrey Rush is relatively subdued--but only by contrast. His Barbossa, whose teeth alone would intimidate a congregation of dentists, brings gnashing to an art form.

Only the film's PG-13 rating prevents him from doing unthinkable things to the heroine, Elizabeth Swann ( Keira Knightley ), whose blood, it is thought, can free the captain and his crew from the Curse of the Black Pearl.

Elizabeth is the daughter of Weatherby Swann, the governor ( Jonathan Pryce ) of Port Royal, a British base in the Caribbean, and seems destined to marry Cmdr. Norrington ( Jack Davenport ), a fate which we intuit would lead to a lifetime of conversations about his constipation.

She truly loves the handsome young swordsmith Will Turner ( Orlando Bloom ), whom she met when they were both children, after spotting him adrift on a raft with a golden pirate medallion around his neck, which turns out to hold the key to the curse. Jack Sparrow takes a fatherly interest in young Turner, especially when he discovers who his father was ... and that is quite enough of the plot.

Bloom is well cast in a severely limited role as the heroic straight-arrow. He has the classic profile of a silent-film star. Knightley you will recall as the best friend of the heroine in " Bend It Like Beckham ," where she had a sparkle altogether lacking here.

Truth be told, she doesn't generate enough fire to explain why these swashbucklers would risk their lives for her, and in closeup, seems composed when she should smolder. Parminder K. Nagra , the star of "Beckham," might have been a more spirited choice.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is "based on" the theme park ride at Disney World, which I have taken many times. It is also inspired (as the ride no doubt was) by the rich tradition of pirate movies, and excels in such departments as buried treasure, pirates' caves, pet parrots and walking the plank, although there is a shortage of eye patches and hooks.

The author Dave Eggers reportedly plans to open a Pirates' Store, complete with planks measured and made to order, and "The Curse of the Black Pearl" plays like his daydreams.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

Chicken for Linda!

Robert daniels.

Simon Abrams

We Grown Now

Peyton robinson.

We Were the Lucky Ones

Sheila O'Malley

Jeanne du Barry

Film credits.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Rated PG-13 For Violence

134 minutes

Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow

Geoffrey Rush as Capt. Barbossa

Jonathan Pryce as The Governor

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann

Orlando Bloom as Will Turner

Jack Davenport as Norrington

Damian O'Hare as Lt. Gillette

Lee Arenberg as Pintel

MacKenzie Crook as Ragetti

Giles as Murtogg

Directed by

• Gore Verbinski
• Ted Elliott
• Terry Rossio
• Jay Wolpert

Latest blog posts

A Good Reason to Be a Coward: Jim Cummings on The Last Stop in Yuma County

Launch Day for My Book, It's Time To Give a FECK! Book Tour Dates, Tamron Hall Show

Short Films in Focus: Floating Through the Nowhere Stream with Director Luis Grané

The Ross Brothers Made a Road-Trip Movie. They Didn’t Come Back the Same.

Spicy words with a twist..

Pirates of the caribbean 3.

REVIEW:  Pirates of the Caribbean 3 At World’s End.

The fresh air of the Caribbean makes an agreeable comeback with this third installment of the successful franchise about the far flung quests of a motley group of hilariously back stabbing pirates. With more swash-buckling sea adventures than one could probably shake a cutlass sword at, this movie holds up well to its promised potential when compared directly to its two smash-hit predecessors.

We rejoin Johnny Depp in his acclaimed portrayal of the Black Pear’s ever contested captain: the ever witty Jack Sparrow. An unmissable womanizer and a living repertoire of poignant wordplay, Jack Sparrow finds himself in this movie at World’s End in need of dire rescuing himself. Off to the rescue of “stricken” Jack are his old mates and buddies. Yet each one is tagging along with his or her own contrived designs and not so selfless purposes. Keira Knightley is even more radiant then before in her role as the mild mannered Elizabeth Swann which has decisively undergone some serious makeover in stance and conduct. Her character now plays a much more involved part in the story than it did previously. Will Turner, played by Orlando Bloom, is still as meek and pliant as always but without his former haplessness. Although masculine improvements to his previously lackluster character have indeed been incorporated into the plotline, they are just not enough for him to steal the spotlight. Last but not least, the great Bill Nighy still manages to impress us with his excellent execution of the CG character Davy Jones. His performance is simply masterful and brings to life the half-squid captain of the Dutchman.

Unexpected alliances and plot twists litter about as the story progresses forth into an all-out debacle. Action wise, the movie is packed full to the brim. There is barely a moment of let up. Plot wise, it keeps you intrigued enough to keep your attention from falling into unwanted slumber. Visually, the special effects department has yet again outdone itself in this movie. Overall, the film is probably up to par in entertainment value with the first movie of the trilogy. In conclusion, if you find yourself in need of some cool action packed movie refresher, or you simply want to find out what happened to Jack Sparrow at the end of the previous Curse of the Black Pearl, then this movie is just for you. It has everything one could need from the magical Caribbean islands without having the pleasure of stumbling unto some charming cutthroat sea bandits in the process..

Quills: 4/5

Genre : comedy, fantasy, action

Share this:

Christian Movie Interviews, News and Reviews

• BROWSE TOPICS X
• Devotionals
• Newsletters

"Pirates of the Caribbean" - Movie Review

• Holly McClure Movie Reviewer
• Updated Aug 07, 2007

Genre : Action, Adventure

Rating: PG-13 (for action/adventure violence)

Release Date: July 9, 2003

Actors: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Tom Wilkinson, Keira Knightly, Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport

Director: Gore Verbinski

Plot: The story is set in motion in the seventeenth century with 10-year-old Will drifting in the Caribbean Sea amidst the murdered crew and burning wreckage of a British ship that was attacked by pirates. The same day of his rescue, young Elizabeth (who has a romanticized notion about pirates) sees a gold medallion around Will's neck of a Jolly Roger skull and takes it from the unconscious boy thinking she has spared his life. Years later we see Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), a charming pirate who has sailed all over the world, come to the Caribbean seeking adventure and treasure. Captain Jack's troubles begin when his precious ship, The Black Pearl, is stolen by the conniving Captain Barbossa (Rush). Then Jack is accused of kidnapping the governor's (Pryce) daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Knightly), and thrown in jail by her fiancé, British Commodore Norrington (Davenport). When the town of Port Royal is then attacked by Barbossa and Elizabeth is kidnapped by his men, Jack escapes jail and enlists the help of Elizabeth's childhood friend, Will Turner (Bloom), to commandeer the fastest ship in the British fleet and go after Elizabeth. As the two get closer to catching the kidnappers aboard the H.M.S. Dauntless, they discover skeletons in Barbossa's closet. It appears that his crew is cursed to live forever as the undead, with the moonlight eerily transforming them into living skeletons, until their treasure of gold is returned in full to them. When Jack realizes he has the gold coin that could release them from their curse, the deadly chase is on.

Bad: Gore Verbinski directed the horror thriller "The Ring" and has incorporated the same knack for intense storytelling in this friendlier pirate tale without the darker elements of a horror movie. For parents believing that this movie will be "kid friendly" like the theme park ride, let me clarify that this is not a children's movie. However, this movie could be considered "teen friendly" because of the mature themes, adult humor and levity throughout the story. By definition a pirate movie is going to have a group of dangerous, unscrupulous characters who drink, use crude language, are filthy to look at and have no qualms about killing. On top of being a nasty bunch, they happen to have a curse on them that makes them turn into ghosts in the moonlight. This crew is willing to do whatever it takes (even kill Elizabeth) to return the gold coin and be freed from their curse. A few funny characters have been thrown in to keep the story humorous (one pirate has a wooden eye that keeps popping out, another has a bird who talks for him, etc.), so the audience doesn't ever take the story too seriously. There are numerous sword fights with casualties and there are other scenes with knives and swords (Elizabeth stabs a dinner knife into Barbossa's chest, but since he's undead, it doesn't hurt him; a fork lands in a pirate's fake eye; Jack shoots a pirate in the chest), but nothing is graphically portrayed. And of course there are the scenes of the pirates in the moonlight who appear in their skeletal form and look disgusting and creepy (flesh falling off their bones and their eyes bulging out). I will say if your children have seen the commercials for the movie, then they've seen the worst of what the pirates look like. But there are still a few scenes that are intense, so parents, you'll need to be discerning about what may frighten or disturb your children, depending on their age and maturity. There are a few mild profanities, some mild sexual innuendoes made by Barbossa and several women slap Jack on the face. There is obviously an abundance of violence because of the numerous battles and fights that various characters get into. And again, there are causalities -- but nothing graphic.

Recently On Movie Features

Editor's Picks

Popular Today

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Crosswalk App
• California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information
• California - CCPA Notice