Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun Fat, Stellan Skarsgard
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2-disc set)
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 Widescreen, 1080p HD
Audio: English 5.1 Uncompressed; English, French & Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Supplements: Eight featurettes (“Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom”, “Keith and the Captain”, “Tale of the Many Jacks”, “Hoist the Colors”, “Masters of Design”, “Inside the Brethren Court”, “The World of Chow Yun Fat” and “The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer”); two deleted scenes; outtakes; “Enter the Maelstrom: The Interactive Experience” Blu-ray movie showcase; theatrical trailers; Easter eggs
Feature Length: 169 minutes
Movie Rating: **** AV Quality Rating: *****
Picking up from where “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” left off, Lord Beckett has since gained control of the terrifying ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, as well as its tentacle-faced captain, Davy Jones. The Flying Dutchman, now under the command of Admiral Norrington, sails the seven seas destroying pirate ships. In hopes of preserving the freedom of all pirates, the movie’s heroes, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), embark on a dangerous mission to gather the Nine Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court. Uniting these Nine Pirate Lords, and in turn convincing them to release the sea goddess Calypso, is their only hope to defeat Beckett, the Flying Dutchman, and his Armada.
Unfortunately, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), one of the Nine Pirate Lords, is currently trapped in Davy Jones’ Locker, courtesy of his encounter with the Kraken sea monster. Will, Elizabeth and Captain Barbossa first travel to exotic Singapore and attempt to curry the favor of Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun Fat) in hopes of securing navigation charts and a ship that can take them to World’s End (the location from where Captain Jack can be rescued). However, even if Captain Jack is successfully rescued, victory is far from assured as betrayal abounds and no one can truly be trusted. Ultimately, all must choose sides in an epic final battle. A fitting end (if indeed this is the final chapter) to a highly-successful trilogy, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” does not quite recapture all of the magic of “The Curse of the Black Pearl”, but it surpasses the action-laden, but often mechanical, “Dead Man’s Chest” in terms of storyline, acting and overall charm. Highly recommended.
In terms of high definition video quality, this Blu-ray DVD is excellent. Images are pristine with crystal-clear detail and deep blacks. Colors are vivid and bold with fully-saturated hues. Picture defect mastering is perfect with no major flaws or compression issues. The audio quality is also excellent with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track serving as the basis for the review. The soundtrack actively incorporates all of the discrete channels into its mix. Dialogue is always intelligible and is properly positioned in the center channel. The surround channels are aggressively utilized for both the sound effects and the Hans Zimmer musical score. The LFE channel is explosive and palpable.
— Calvin Harding Jr.
