In our third installment of the POTC franchise, we find our noble group of pirates in a bit of a quandry.  In Dead Man's Chest, James Norrington had obsconded with the still beating heart of Davy Jones to present to the vile Lord Beckett - who wanted to control the seas.



In AWE, he has obtained his goal. 



In a rather macabre beginning, down trodden pirates facing the hangman's noose send up the call, "Never Say We Die". 



This prompts our reluctant heroes to test the wrath of evil Pirate Lord Sao Feng, played quite menacingly by Chow Yun-Fat.  They need to unite all the nine Pirate Lords to save the seas from evil Lord Beckett... including one deceased Captain Jack Sparrow.



It has been suggested by some of my screenwriting colleagues that our filmmakers could have easily shaved 40 minutes off of the movie by getting rid of their journey to Singapore and their encounter with Sao Feng.



I think the biggest reason for that complaint is how long it actually takes to see Jack in all his glory.



Let me say, for the record, that it is well worth the wait.  You'll get so much Jack Sparrow in this movie you won't know what to do with it.



Every one has a reason for rescuing Jack from Davy Jones' Locker.  Will needs the Black Pearl to release his father from the slimy and sinister Davy Jones.  Elizabeth must square her guilt by being the one to actually kill him. 



And Barbosa?



He has reasons all his own.  Suffice it to say you will see why Tia Doma brought the charismatic bad guy from COTBP back from the grave.



She, too, has her own reasons.



This is pretty much the driving force of our movie.  Everyone has an agenda and everyone is suspect in any bargain or deal to reach that end. 



Ultimately it's a movie about betrayal, and in a rather dizzying fashion, our filmmakers keep us bouncing back and forth among our key players with almost frenetic energy.



Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio wisely pay homage to a lot of the things we loved in the first movie, while avoiding some of the pitfalls from the second.  Unlike the cannibal scene in DMC, every scene in AWE (even with Sao Feng and Singapore) is critical to the story as well as being highly entertaining. 



What struck me most about AWE is how visually stunning it is.  I highly recommend you see this in the theater.  Some of the scenes will literally take your breath away.  It's bigger than big.  Grander than grand. 



The battle sequences, specifically the epic one at the end, are enough to keep audiences spellbound and at the edge of their seats.  You get to see the blades cross, the cannons fire and the roar and swell of an angry ocean in almost frightening detail. 



My only real complaint, if you could call it that, was a crucial scene during that epic fight battle that took a rather sharp detour into WTF territory.  But when it was all said and done I understood the need for the scene, and could not fault our filmmakers for making it as POTC as possible.



It's a beautiful film.  It's an exciting movie.  It's a complete story - that answers all our questions and concludes several storylines quite satisfactorily while still giving us a hunger for more.



It's everything we could have asked for, and a lot of things we weren't expecting. 



Plus there's Jack, Jack and more Jack.



So what are you waiting for, matey? 



Get ye to a theater and experience the weird and haunted waters At World's End.