Johnny Depp was already a pretty successful actor before the release of the first pirates film in 2003. However it was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) that really launched depp in the mainstream and into the conscious of movie goers on a larger framework. I was first introduced to him through his collaborations with director Tim burton. In many ways actually Depp has always been a cult movie star choosing roles that go against the mainstream , Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, What's Eating Gilbert Grape & Sleepy hollow for example. so that's why it always comes a bit of suprise to think he's part of a franchise that is now in it's third movie.
The film opens with a pretty gripping (and suprisngly detailed for 12A) hanging scene (yes that's right), Family entertainment written all over it :) personally though i can see issues parents would have about it, i wellcomed that darker tone of the film and intro and felt it gave the film a little extra weight and credibility. Though it does seem more and more out of place as the movie goes a long as its not mentioned or a key part of the story, apart from it allows one line to make sense later. actually thats not the only dark scene, there are many moments including gun shots, toe snapping and nasy knife deaths that really do push the 12A to it's limit.
So yes darker tone worked, but maybe not the younger kids. Though it's strange because at the same time as being the darkest pirates movie, it was also probably the most funny, and whacky one. With high voiced pirate kings, monkeys, multiple jacks and rock crabs, adding to this fact. It is 2hrs and 50 mins so yes, it does feel at times as it drags, there's no avoiding that. i'm not evening saying it in a overly negative sense, but when you have to sit for 2hrs 50 mins, its going to drag. The action scenes are great, tension is very good too. The first big scene where Elizabeth Swann & Barbossa meet with Captain Sao Feng. With acting of Yun-Fat Chow stealing the scene it makesfor what is a pretty gripping moment in the film.
On negative side, Character of Jack Sparrow, though good, i didn't find as good as he has been. I felt a lot of his appeal had faded. He had almost become a cartoon version of Jack Sparrow. Though what i did like was the way the film panned out. It's 30+ mins before Jack even appears on screen, i have to praise them for this. For a series basically built on Jack sparrow & Depps performance it takes a lot of faith in the narrative to hold him off for 30+ mins, and was a refreshing suprise. Also, like with the other pirates there are a lot of scenes of pirates explaining things that would seem stupid in any other context and theres A LOT of plot to explain and get through. Which doesn't add to the pace of the 2 hr 50 mins. Bloom & Knightley story is ok and done better than in the other films. In fact Bloom's character gets his best showing in this film and gives his character more depth, even if his acting lacks a whole lot of it.
All in All, my fave pirates next to Curse of Black Pearl. Darker, yet at times funnier than the previous films. it's no huge leap from the others, but its enough to give it a slight edge. Great action scenes, and even though narrative is slow, its still very watchable. In a scene where their ship falls down a huge waterfall and the screen is emersed in water, made me think "wow theres not many movies where you have a visual sight like this". I think for all the negative press it gets, it has made a very unusual and select genre successful again, and every film shows quite a bit of imagination. See this film, expect to yawn somewhere in the middle, but expect to be gripped later with great action scenes and visions of imagination and, well, fun.
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