Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World"s End (2007) - Movie Review for Parents

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MPAA Rating: PG-13, for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images
Genre: Action/Adventure
Age range: Ages 13 and up
Runtime: Approx. 167 minutes
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Chow Yun-Fat, Stellan Skarsgard, Jack Davenport, Kevin R. McNally, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: May 25, 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Plot Summary

The previous movie in the Pirates trilogy, Dead Man's Chest, ended with quite a cliff-hanger. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was dead, but Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) insinuated that she knew how to bring him back, and she suprised the other characters and the audience with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), whom she had brought back from the dead.

In At World's End, we find Barbossa, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), Will (Orlando Bloom), Tia, and other members of the crew in Singapore. They are trying to trick the ruthless pirate lord Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) into helping them get Jack back from the dreaded Davy Jones' Locker. Things don't go quite as planned, but in the end, Sao does give them the ship and crew they need.

They are able to retrieve Jack, and the illustrious Black Pearl with surprisingly little travail. Bringing Jack back is only the beginning, though. With Lord Beckett and the East India Trading Company bearing down hard on all pirates, Barbossa insists that it is time to call a meeting of the nine pirate lords to discuss how they will be able to retain their places as rulers of the seas.

Lord Beckett has orchestrated much of what is happening on the high seas, and he has another advantage - Davy Jones' heart. Beckett has the Dead Man's Chest with Davy's heart inside, and he uses it as leverage to control Jones and his ghastly crew on the Flying Dutchman. When Beckett confirms that the council of the pirate lords will take place, he begins to mount an attack.

Meanwhile, with all the deals the pirates and leaders are making behind each other's backs, it is a wonder that anyone knows whose side they are actually on. Each trying to accomplish a selfish agenda, the characters' alliances shift like the howling wind. The meeting of pirate lords finally happens, however, and decisions are made that result in an unparalleled battle.

In this third installment in the Pirates story, everyone has a secret, and everyone has a plan. The fate of those involved may depend on who is the strongest, savviest, or maybe just luckiest.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Note to Parents

At World's End is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images. In the movie, several people are shown being stabbed or shot (although not much is seen in the way of blood and gore, the movie does show the swords stabbing people through). Also, Davy Jones kills one man by squeezing his tentacles into the guy's throat and out of various facial orifices.

Many of the characters - from the ghastly sea creature people on Davy Jones' boat to the cruel pirate lord Sao Feng - will probably be very frightening to young children. Also, the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma is scary looking and practices voodoo or witchcraft several times during the movie.

In addition to the violence and frightening scenes, the movie does contain some innuendo and suggestive scenes. Sao Feng implies that he is going to force himself on a woman, but he is only able to kiss her before being interrupted. In another scene, a man kisses a woman's leg sensually, resulting in a pleasurable look on her face that would likely make a few parents seeing the movie with their children uncomfortable.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Content Overview

The following lists some of the most prominent examples of possibly offensive content in the movie. (Contains Spoilers):
Violence(Extreme)
- Several people, including a small boy, are hung for being pirates. Only their feet are shown as the floor drops out beneath them and they hang to death.
- Frequent battle scenes occur, wherein weapons such as guns, knives, swords and cannons are shown and many people are killed. Several of these killings are shown, as well as dead corpses. Although only a small amount of blood/gore is seen, we see swords run people through and bullets hit other people in the head or back.
- Davy Jones kills a man by sticking his tentacles in the man's mouth and out through his face and squeezing.

Sex/Nudity(Moderate)
- Several women in the movie wear dresses that reveal cleavage.
- Men ogle as they look up a woman's robe (she is standing on a floor above them, no nudity is shown).

- Sao Feng implies that he will force himself on a woman. He kisses her against her will, but he is interrupted before he can do more.
- A man kisses a woman's leg sensuously.

Profanity(Mild)
- The word hell is used at least once.

Alcohol/Drugs(Moderate)
- Pirates sing about and drink rum.

Bad/Disrespectful Behavior(Heavy)
- Many of the characters lie to each other, make bargains and then renege upon them, and otherwise deceive each other.
- Lord Beckett suspends the people's rights and wants to kill all pirates. Beckett also has the governor killed.
- Jack has hallucinations of clones of himself. He orders them around and kills some of them. One of his clones licks his own brain. Jack acts effeminate and often does things that are gross or unmannerly.

Scary Scenes(Heavy)
- The scenes listed under "Violence" may be scary or unsettling to children.
- Davy Jones, who looks like a giant squid man, and the other members of his crew have various frightening sea creature-like characteristics.
- Sao Fang and other pirates look scary and threaten and kill many people.

Sad/Unsettling Scenes(Moderate)
- Elizabeth sees her father floating in a boat on the water, and she is very distraught to find out that he is dead.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) - Topics to Discuss

• The movie brings up topics such as: revenge, deceit, betrayal, pirates, democracy, suspending of the people's rights, the undead, and voodoo/witchcraft.