Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) by Andy G — 04 May 2017

It's been a while since I've seen either of these first two sequels, and I've got to say, in both cases I think my enjoyment improved on this rewatch, and even moreso for At World's End. I think this movie has some fantastic cinematography, the best musical score of the series, and it actually pays off the two-part sequel concept better than just about any other I've seen. The opening is fantastic and really sets the tone, the characters are all used really well, with some cool new characters added into the mix as well, and the finale is perfectly executed. This movie delivers a truly epic set piece finale, which is done better than most large action scenes in cinema. In this movie, you still have that great action, but it's complemented with engaging dialogue and story progression the entire time all of this is happening, which keeps the audience drawn into the scene. Many movies in hollywood fail to understand this and end up ruining great action by making it seem like it's just action for action's sake, rather than actually being driven by the story. The Maelstrom scene in this is incredibly well written and choreographed, and a perfect finale for this story. The movie also does a good job leading into the fourth movie, and possibly also into the fifth movie. At World's End was released almost exactly 10 years before Dead Men Tell No Tales, and if you've seen this movie, you'll know why that's perfect timing.

Personal Grade: S++.

Technical Score: 96%.