From Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment:
Just when he’s needed most, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), that witty and wily charmer of a pirate, is trapped on a sea of sand in Davy Jones’ Locker. In an increasingly shaky alliance, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) begin a desperate quest to find and rescue him. Captain Jack’s the last of the nine Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court who must come together united in one last stand to preserve the freedom-loving pirates’ way of life. From exotic Singapore, to World’s End and beyond, from Shipwreck Island, to a titanic battle, this adventure’s filled with over-the-edge action, irreverent humor and seafaring myth and magic. Everything has led to this twisting, turning, wild swashbuckling ride in this final chapter of the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Main Cast List
Actor Name:
Character Name:
Johnny Depp
Orlando Bloom
Keira Knightley
Jack Davenport
Jonathan Pryce
Bill Nighy
Lee Arenberg
Mackenzie Crook
Kevin McNally
Tom Hollander
Stellan Skarsgard
Naomie Harris
Yun-Fat Chow
Keith Richards
... Captain Jack Sparrow
... Will Turner
... Elizabeth Swann
... Norrington
... Governor Weatherby Swann
... Davy Jones
... Pintel
... Regetti
... Gibbs
... Lord Cutler Beckett
... Bootstrap Bill
... Tia Dalma
... Captain Seo Feng
... Captain Teague
The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the third film in the franchise. It follows up 2006's Dead Man's Chest . We're not sure where to start. At World's End suffers from some of the same bloated plot that Dead Man's Chest did. As in Dead Man's Chest , we often had little idea where the story was going due to all the various storylines and conflicting motives. At the same time, the action and visual effects were extraordinary and always worth watching.
At World's End presumably picks up not long after Dead Man's Chest . Jack is trapped in Davy Jones' Locker, while Davy Jones himself is doing the bidding of Lord Beckett and the East India Trading Company. Captain Barbossa, who was glimpsed at the end of Dead Man's Chest , is now helping Elizabeth and Will in their efforts, which begin with a visit to pirate lord Sao Feng in Singapore and the calling of the Brethren Court of Pirates. However, all three of them have their own motives and are willing to betray each other to try to achieve them.
Once Jack escapes Davy Jones' Locker (no big surprise there), the hijinks escalate with the four of them scheming. The tension that was introduced in Dead Man's Chest between Jack, Elizabeth and Will continues. Barbossa's true motive for convening the Brethren Court of Pirates is revealed about two-thirds of the way in. Lord Beckett strikes deals with everyone and then breaks most of them throughout the film. And for good measure, Keith Richards makes a cameo as Jack Sparrow's father.
We won't give anything away, but just about all of the subplots from Dead Man's Chest and At World's End are resolved in some fashion. However, even though the film ran over two and a half hours long, the ending did feel abrupt especially in the case of Lord Beckett. We were also disappointed in the ending to Elizabeth and Will's love story, which we felt was almost an afterthought though this was personal preference. They vanish while the final scenes are filled by Barbossa, the Black Pearl and Jack.
After sitting through At World's End , you'll have been entertained by the string of set action pieces. There will be a few scratch-your-end moments. One thing of note is that the ending hints at another adventure for Jack and the Black Pearl. Discussions of Pirates of the Caribbean 4 have been ongoing, which would apparently not include Will and Elizabeth. However, the DVD booklet includes the curious statement that Will and Elizabeth's story is not yet complete.
The DVD:
Speaking of the DVD, we had the opportunity to check out the 2-Disc Special Edition. Surprisingly, the extras on the second disc only run about 95 minutes. We also found a couple of extras that had been listed in early press releases were not included. There was no feature length audio commentary. Also, there was no featurette on The Pirate Code and its history. Compared to the depth of the special features that were included in the first two films, At World's End came up short. We're guessing that some special features were held back so they could follow the path of The Lord of the Rings DVD releases. Since this DVD is to stop being sold in September 2008, we figure that there will be an extended edition DVD just in time for Christmas 2008.
However, there are some nuggets to be found. Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom is the best. The five featurettes on various parts of production are also informative. The two featurettes on Hans Zimmer and the song "Hoist the Colours" are hit and miss. "Inside the Brethren Court" is interesting, but it's hard to tell what (if anything) is historical, or if it is all made up for the films. We have to admit that a couple of most enjoyable special features were the menu transitions and the menus. There is a featurette on Keith Richards which we found uninteresting, but we'll admit that's probably due to our not being Rolling Stones fans.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Special Edition DVD Extras: Disc One:
- Bloopers of the Caribbean [5:20] Disc Two:
- Keith & the Captain - Featurette on relationship between Keith Richards and Johnny Depp [4:35]
- Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom - a detailed breakdown of complex action set piece [19:15]
- Tale of the Multiple Jacks - In-depth look at the FX that created multiple Captain Jacks [4:45}
- Deleted Scene: "I Like Riddles" with Optional Commentary from Director Gore Verbinski [:50]
- Deleted Scene: "Two Captains, One Ship" with Optional Commentary from Director Gore Verbinski [1:20]
- The World of Chow Yun Fat [4:10]
- The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer - Featurette on the film's composer [10:30]
- Masters of Design - Five documentaries on the production design teams:
• #1 - Jim Byrkit: Sap Feng's Map [6:15]
• #2 - Crash McCreery: The Cursed Crew [5:20]
• #3 - Rick Heinrichs: Singapore [5:10]
• #4 - Penny Rose: Teague's Costume [3:35]
• #5 - Kris Peck: The Code Book [5:10]
- Hoist the Colours - Featurette on the "Hoist the Colours" original composition [4:40]
- Inside the Brethren Court - A closer look at the Pirate Lords [:50]
• Queen of Spades: Capitaine Chevalle [:45]
• Spectacles: Mistress Ching [:50]
• Snuff Box: Sri Sumbhajee [1:05]
• Neck of a Broken Bottle: Villanueva [:45]
• Wooden Eye: Hector Barbossa [1:15]
• Jade Captain's Knot: Sao Feng [1:20]
• Tobacco Cutter: Gentleman Jocard [:35]
• Moroccan Beads/Coin: Jack Sparrow [1:05]
• Pewter Brandy Goblet: Ammand the Corsair [1:05]
• Pirate King/Jade Captain's Knot: Elizabeth Swann [:55]
- Easter Egg: In Search of the Perfect Peanut [2:00]
- Easter Egg: Drummer Simon Phillips [2:00]
- Easter Egg: Animatics of Black Pearl in the Arctic [2:34]
- Easter Egg: Time Lapse of Building of Singapore Set [1:00]
- Easter Egg: Bonneville Salt Flats [2:30] Buy the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2-Disc DVD Now!
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Blu-ray 2-Disc DVD Extras: Disc One:
- Bloopers of the Caribbean
- Jolly Roger Host - BD-Java Exclusive Disc Two:
- Includes all special features found on Disc Two of the Special Edition DVD in HD
- Enter the Maelstrom - BD-Java Exclusive Buy the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Blu-ray 2-Disc DVD Now!
