THT Talkies: Sparrow steals the show again!

Pirates of The Caribbean: At World’s End

Director: Gore Verbinski

Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, and Chow Yun-Fat

Showing at Jai Nepal

Kathmandu:

Does he plan it or does he do it as he goes along? This is what you feel about Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he takes you the most awaited adventure of the year. However, he is missing in first few reels, where Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) with Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) are on their way to Singapore to meet Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) to get a ship and the navigational chart to World’s End, the gateway to the Davy Jones’ Locker where Sparrow is confined.

Sparrow was killed at the climax of Pirates II, but obviously the show cannot go on without him. The team must somehow revive him so that they can get on with their adventure, and also so that the audience can see what they have paid for — the crazy Jack Sparrow. The is done in an elaborated way that involves lengthy special effects sequences.

Sparrow is stranded in the land of death for some time as he has been taken ‘body and soul’ along with his Black Pearl is hallucinated with his own 100 selves (imaginary clones). By the time the ‘let’s bring back Jack from the locker’ part of the film is over, the real complications begin — maps, keys to help read maps, and maps to help find keys, and so forth.

The first half of the movie is packed with more plot twists, character developments, back-stabbings and revelations than any of the K-serials. Lord Beckett wants to rule the sea, Davy Jones wants to kill all the pirates; the surviving lot of pirates wants to re-awaken an ancient sea goddess in order to protect themselves, Will wants to marry Liz and save his dad from the squid-faced captain Jones, Sparrow is worried about his own gain and very little else. Basically it’s more about revenge and what and how they bargain with each other.

Though Pirates III is a bit too long and more than a little convoluted, but if you loved the first two movies, you’re going to love this one, and for good reason. Verbinski wonderfully mixes comedy, action and drama, and gives each character something special to do. Incredible special effects and astonishing set pieces fill the scr-een. However, it is Sparrow who steals the show and the way he says “You can kill me but you can never insult me” is funny and witty. You can’t help but love the sizzling hot pirate of the Caribbean who is confusing, obnoxious, traitorous, crazy and still very mad and yet unavoidable.

Sparrow and Barbossa are successful in keeping the mysterious and cunning

picture of the pirates alive in this installment of Pirates. It is a great and refreshing change to see Barbossa

back with his ‘Ayye’ and ‘Arrgh’. The characters of Will and Liz are well defined, Chow Yun-Fat has been wasted as Sao Feng.

Keith Richards totally rocks it playing pirate daddy to Sparrow. The deep rumble of his voice and those hooded eyes that narrowly open like the creaky gates of hell make him the perfect father of the crazy son.