Saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End last night with Ligia. Superb follow-up to Dead Man’s Chest (2006). I loved the plot twists in this one, and thought the script was handled wonderfully to offer closure to the story points from the first and second movies in the series. It seemed to me there was a ton more action packed into this one than the first and even the second. And it was certainly not as dark as the second, which left me frustrated and with a headache. As expected, things definitely had the Jerry Bruckheimer signature: big music, big fights, and furious, charging action.

I loved all of the legends and tales that were weaved so nicely into this movie’s plot (Calypso, the maelstrom, the literal end of the world, Davy Jones’ locker). (For more information about the places discussed in the movie series, see the Geography of the Pirates of the Caribbean, but know that it contains spoilers.)

Now about the acting: superb, as we’ve come to expect from the previous two movies. Honestly, praises are to lavished all around. Everyone’s performances felt authentic. I was in awe of Geoffrey Rush’s portrayal of Barbossa this time around. That man is a born character actor! Orlando Bloom really grew into the role of Will Turner this time. It felt to me as if he finally inhabited the character. Kevin McNally’s performance as Mr. Gibbs also stood out as more forceful than in the other two movies.

There’s a surprise appearance by someone in this movie. I’ll give you a hint: he appears at Shipwreck Cove as a pirate, and he was supposedly an inspiration for Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Jack Sparrow… This may be a spoiler, but I have to point it out, or you may miss it: it looks like Jack Sparrow is the son of this pirate king. Watch closely for the dialogue between them!

The set designers and the editors are to be praised as well. Like in the first movie of the series, they did a wonderful job in making the sets inhabitable. When I watched it, things were so real I could imagine walking around the streets and places that were filmed. Beyond that, the entire movie came alive — it was believable and authentic. It met my litmus test: I didn’t notice the sets, and focused on the movie.

There was one thing I didn’t like: the makeup on the actors’ faces was very visible in some scenes, and it was a deep sort of yellow. It looked as if they had jaundice. I understand it’s really hard to deal with makeup in humid and wet environments, especially when people are sweating and action sequences are being shot, but still, it was disconcerting to look at their faces and see them yellow in one cut and normal in the next. This happened especially during scenes filmed on the ships.

The way is left open for another movie at the end. Don’t worry, this movie does NOT end in a cliffhanger, like the second one. I thought that was a particularly cruel move, and I’m glad to see it didn’t happen here. Everything that needs closure gets closure, while the gate is still left ajar. Beautiful ending, if you ask me. And that reminds me: do NOT leave the movie theater until ALL of the credits roll by. There is a surprise scene at the end (and I mean the END) of the movie. Don’t want to spoil it for you, but do NOT leave the theater, wait for it. It’s worth it!

One of the last scenes takes place between Will and Elizabeth. I’ll spoil it if I go into the details, but it’s very endearing, and involves a play on words — a wonderful metaphor about sincere love, and the act of giving someone your heart with the hope that they will guard it well.

More information:

• IMDB
• Netflix
• Amazon