Pirates 3: A Sinking Franchise

Of the three most anticipated, box office smashing sequels to hit theaters this summer, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was probably the worst of the three failures. I would describe Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third and Pirates: AWE as "entertaining" at best. The Pirates trilogy started with a bang and fizzled out quicker than you can say "Captain Jack Sparrow." There is more than one reason why I disliked Pirates: AWE, but I'd have to say poor writing was what sunk this already badly damaged ship. With too many plot lines and not much character development, I constantly found myself wondering more than once if there was a deleted scene that was supposed to go there. Just way too much material and not enough screen time and continuity, and with all the poor acting going on in this film even Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush couldn't keep it afloat. With no chemistry between Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly, it was impossible to believe much of anything that was going on. Instead of making me swoon, sentimental moments made me cringe and feel embarrassed for the people who took part in this shipwreck of a film. In the last two installments, the comedic element has pretty much vanished entirely, the jokes just weren't funny, but more along the lines of corny. Even the rum was gone.

Grade: C-