By Nattalie Tehrani, 16, South HS (Torrance)
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Everywhere you look nowadays there is some sort of advertisement for Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, the third installment in the Pirates trilogy. Johnny Depp’s face is everywhere, whether it’s a cereal box or a life-size display at a bookstore. Don’t get me wrong, that is definitely a good thing in my book. However, as a devoted Depp fan, I feel ashamed to say, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 was a disappointment. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on during most of the film.

The film was very confusing, so I had to research the plot online to know what happened. The basis of the movie was rescuing Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the dead, but to do that, the crew had to get through a Pirate Lord in Singapore who hid the map to the end of the world (the land of the dead). Unfortunately for the crew, the Pirate Lord was a stubborn fellow, who Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) infuriated when he was caught trying to steal the map. During all this, Lord Beckett executes anyone associated with piracy and commands the destruction of all pirate ships because Will and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley) were on the pirate ships. That isn’t even a complete description of the plot. There were plenty more events in the film that were too complicated for me to explain.

I always believed that they should have left Pirates alone after the first one. It was lighthearted, easy-to-follow and hilarious. I’m a firm believer in the saying, “You should quit while you’re ahead.” In addition to being far too complex, at 190 minutes, the third movie was also too long. I suppose the two negatives are connected since a great amount of time is needed in attempt to explain everything. I could list a possible third negative, which was not enough Johnny Depp in the film, but I think that’s just my inner Depp-obsessed self talking and many would say otherwise.

One thing about the film I loved, however, is the visuals. In every review I have written I rave about the cinematography in movies, but I can safely say that this one really outdid all the others. A specific scene that had me in awe was the scene in which the crew was sailing back to the real world, and along the way, the dead floated by in dinghies with lanterns that gave off a beautiful orange glow. The scene was eerie and dark and literally sent shivers running down my spine. It was glorious.

I don’t believe it’s necessary for me to say that the acting was amazing because everyone already knows what Depp, Knightley and Bloom are capable of. Depp was his goofy self, and even with his lack of humorous dialogue, he made audience members chuckle with the many facial expressions he has up his sleeve. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I would pay a good amount of money to see Depp in a silent film. Now that would be something.

The film wasn’t terrible, and it is more entertaining than most films due to the visuals and the fun pirate music. Of course Depp himself is a good enough reason to go see the movie. I suggest that if you are considering seeing the film, read a summary about it online before viewing. It’ll make the film much more enjoyable.