Finally made it to the theater to catch Pirates of the Caribbean at Worlds End. I had seen the first two of the series the first day upon their release, but was so disappointed in part 2 that it took me a couple of weeks to make it to the theater for this one. Most movie critics stuck it to part 3 after giving part 2 positive reviews (which they are using revisionist history and saying that one stunk now).

Simply put, “At Worlds End” is a much better film than “Dead Mans Chest”. It is a shame that many people are avoiding the theaters because of the the prior film because “At Worlds End” is truly a treat to see and its only major drawback is the fact that you will get slightly confused at part of the storyline that would make you remember “Dead Mans Chest” more vividly (which would make me watch it again-something I swore I would not do after leaving the theater disgusted at how bad the follow up was to the excellent part 1).

Here are some thoughts on the film:

1) The movie starts off very dark. Starting off with Pirates being hanged on the gallows, including one pre-pubescent boy, you will be wondering if you are watching a Disney movie or accidentally stepped into to something more along the lines of ‘Grindhouse’.

2) Johnny Depp, in my opinion the best actor of his generation and the the foundation of the success of these films, does not make his entrance until over a half hour into the film. This strategy works because he then is in most every scene after. This is a major difference to “Dead Mans Chest”, in which Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow disappeared for lengthy intervals of the film leaving the viewer bored when he was off screen. I would liken “Dead Mans Chest” to benching a star player on a sports team and watching your team fall behind when fans scratched their head and wondered where he was.

3) Again on to Disney. The film featured Depp’s alter ego when he was in exile and again when he was in prison. The “trippy” feel of these scenes were, again, very much “un-Disneyesque”.

4) Storylines were kept open for a possible sequel. Whether or not these see the light of day anytime soon are in question due to “At Worlds End” not faring as well at the Box Office as the studio would like.

Overall, the film works. If you were a fan of “The Curse of the Black Pearl” and were scared off by the follow up, you should make it to theater to see the movie on the bigscreen. You will be disappointed you didn’t as the picturesque shots, quality acting, and lush score how they were meant to be viewed.