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CinemaSins Movie Reviews
The third in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. There is no way to describe the plot, at this point. Go back and watch the first two, don’t let the second stop you from seeing this one.
So there we were in Winnemucca, NV, Mr. Otter and I.
When we came to town, the double theater was playing Shrek 3 and Spider-man 3. I expressed my interest in the second of these epics, but after dinner, lo and behold, the marquee had changed: Shrek 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (elegantly and succinctly expressed on said marquee as Pirates 3, but of course it’s clear.)
Said I to Mr. Otter, do you care if I see it without you? or do you want to see it with me? I might do that instead of gambling, if it’s playing at a good time.
Mr. Otter expressed his complete lack of interest in this movie, both of us having really hated the second Pirates movie. Plus, as he pointed out, having lost his eyeglasses in the middle of godforsaken Idaho nowhere, he couldn’t actually go to a movie if he wanted to.
So I left him comfortably ensconced in the lovely motel room with a bottle of wine and the DVDs of Slings and Arrows (which he COULD see) and went off to see what delights Winnemucca had to offer.
And I walked the two blocks to the movie theater to check on movie times. And there was a line of people, mostly of high-school age. It was ten minutes to eight, and the movie was supposed to start at 8:15. Well, thought I, it’s gonna suck but I know I’m gonna see it even so…may as well get it over with and only pay 8 bucks for the privelege.
And I went in. And when I came out, three hours later (the movie theater put in an intermission so people would buy more food) I was FLOATING. And RAVING. And BABBLING.
Damn, that was a good movie. Who’da thunk? I don’t know of another example where a really excellent movie was followed by a sucky sequel, and then the third movie was so good.
But it is. And the reason is that the second movie only has about an hour of actual plot-driving content, and the rest of the movie is just filler. The payoff, in the third movie, of all those unbelieveable plot threads they set up in the previous one is nothing short of spectacular.
The characters are good, as always, but now we know them well, so the writers don’t waste their time defining the characters, but actually expand on them. Johnny Depp (SERIOUS honey) is still wonderful, and some of his scenes are amazing. And the plot, oh my god. How can I describe how good it is without giving it all away?
I will say only two things about it:
- I’m an avid reader of fantasy novels, and one of the things I’m always saying is that in a quest story, the characters have to pay for what they get or it isn’t worth it. In this movie, they do and it is.
- The other thing you need to know is that I paid full price to see this again three days later with Mr. Otter in tow. It was that good. Even the second time. I can’t remember the last time I paid full price to see a movie twice in the theaters…but it’s kind of rare. (And I went a THIRD TIME a week later with Maid-of-Awesome. And it was STILL GOOD).
And yes, Mr. Otter had a spare pair of glasses at home.
Go see this movie. It’s wonderful. I might just come along and see it again…
Oh, and sit through the interminable credits, there’s one more scene at the end.
theotterlimits 