The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A disappointing end

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 03, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A disappointing end

NOT TOO EXCITING: Geoffrey Rush (left) and Johnny Depp in a scene from `Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'.

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

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Chow Yun-Fat

At some point in the middle of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", one of the characters asks, "Do you think he plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along?"

By this point, one is hard put to answer if the character is saying this of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow or of director Gore Verbinski or perhaps writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio.

There is so much that one can point to for mistakes in the film. The complete lack of chemistry between Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, who unfortunately occupy the bulk of space in this third instalment. The William Wallace syndrome that Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann suffers from, by jumping onto pedestals and making speeches on freedom and struggle a la Braveheart. The inconsistent, incoherent writing that makes the previous two film scripts seem like literary gems. Or the comedic over-extension that makes what came easily in the first two films seem like really hard work. Or even Johnny Depp, who, it seems, is putting himself through the motions rather than really trying.

The real difficulty with "At World's End", however, lies in the very direction that the trilogy has taken. Although all three films have worked off a rather haphazard-seeming plotline, the second and third films have made a marked deviation from the first in the manner in which the fantasy world of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" is treated.

While the first film made quirky breaks and unexpected turns from the expected formula, it stuck closely to the rules of the world it inhabited. With the second film, that emphasis began to weaken, and in the third, all divisions between possibility and impossibility are simply thrown out the window. The result is a world in which anything is possible and hence everything is expected and nothing really excites.

Of course, not everything is off with "At World's End". Rare glimpses of the original organic chemistry still remain, aided by a rather nice but unfortunately short cameo by Keith Richards. There are still lines worth laughing at that make portions of the film rather watchable.

Rakesh Mehar

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka