SPOILER ALERT!
For safety of our viewer's disappointment, it is fair to give a warning that this gives off movie plots from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
The 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was the final Pirates of the Caribbean movie until they announced On Stranger Tides in 2010. There was a 4th movie but this was the final one with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner. Although it is rumored that in the 5th movie that Jerry Bruickheimer announced this year and is filming in November 2012, will have the return of William Turner jr and Elizabeth Swann.
Plot[]
Hoist the Colours
Mass executions of pirates and pirate sympathizers are underway at Fort Charles in Port Royal, at the behest of Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who begins his War Against Piracy as he gains control of the Dead Man's Chest. Among those waiting at the gallows is a young cabin boy (Brendyn Bell), who begins singing a pirate shanty, Hoist the Colours. The song is picked up by the entire assembly, and its final line ("Never shall we die") continues to resonate as the singers are hanged. The boy's piece of eight falls to the ground.
Singapore
Meanwhile in Singapore, where Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is rowing through the streets in a peapod canoe, singing further verses of Hoist the Colours. She is confronted by Tai Huang (Reggie Lee), but is revealed to be in the company of Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Led by Huang, Swann and Barbossa make their way to a bath house presided over by the feared Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Meanwhile, the surviving members of the motley crew, including Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), Marty (Martin Klebba), Cotton (David Bailie), Pintel (Lee Arenberg) and Ragetti (Mackenzie Crook), are infiltrating the lower levels of the bath house. The newest member of the crew, mystic Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), is disguised nearby as a common hawker.
After being forced to remove their weapons, Barbossa and Elizabeth meet Sao Feng inside the bath house. He questions their intentions to bargain for his navigational charts, revealing that a thief had attempted to steal them earlier in the day. The thief is being held in the bath house, and is none other than William Turner (Orlando Bloom). Sao Feng makes to kill him, tricking Elizabeth into giving away their connection to him. Barbossa takes charge, reminding Feng that the "song has been sung", and all Pirate Lords—of which Feng is one—are bound to convene at Shipwreck Cove. Barbossa requires the charts to reach World's End, and from there descend into Davy Jones' Locker to rescue the Pirate Lord, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). This angers Feng, who holds a grudge against Sparrow. The crew, hidden below the floorboards, do not help matters by throwing Barbossa and Elizabeth swords at the mention of the word "weapons". During the stand-off, Feng notices one of the bath house residents has a fake tattoo, though Barbossa claims the man is not his. At that moment, soldiers of the East India Trading Company burst in, led by Mercer (David Schofield).
A battle ensued in the bathhouse, which would later lead into the streets of Singapore. Throughout the battle, there have been casualties on both sides, including many EITC soldiers and both of Sao Feng's body guards Park and Lian. At one point, Mercer overhears a conversation between Sao Feng and Will. Turner promises Feng a chance to meet with Lord Beckett and spare himself from the EITC's attentions, and in exchange Will desires command of the Black Pearl. Feng gives Will the charts, and lends Barbossa both a ship, the Hai Peng, and a crew led by Tai Huang. They depart Singapore for World's End.
At World's End
Meanwhile, the Flying Dutchman is laying siege to a pirate fleet, utterly destroying its ships. In his office, Lord Beckett is musing on the significance of the piece of eight, wishing to know the location of the meeting place of the Brethren Court. Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce) is being forced to sign execution orders. Beckett summons Admiral James Norrington (Jack Davenport), and reunites him with an "old friend"; his sword, forged over a year before by Will Turner.
The crew of the Hai Peng sails across a frozen ocean, and Tia Dalma explains to Pintel and Ragetti that Jack has been taken to a place "not of death, but punishment". Will tries in vain to decipher the cryptic instructions on the charts, while Barbossa, Gibbs and Pintel fill in with information on the "green flash"; the signal of a soul returning to the world.
Lord Beckett surveys the wrecks of the pirate fleet with consternation, and muses that Governor Swann is no longer of use to him. He orders the Dead Man's Chest to be brought aboard the Flying Dutchman, berating Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) for not leaving any survivors alive to question. Beckett reminds him that Jones is under his control, citing the death of the Kraken, on Beckett's command. Jones is clearly not happy with the situation, but has no choice but to serve the East India Trading Company in its War Against Piracy
"Don't be so unkind. You may not survive to pass this way again, and these be the last friendly words you'll hear."
―Hector Barbossa to Elizabeth Swann
Under a clear, starry sky, the Hai Peng sails closer to World's End. Elizabeth remains unable to speak to Will, saying only that everything will be fine once Jack is rescued. Tia Dalma reminds Will that for what he wants most, "there is a cost must be paid in the end". The crew faces bigger problems, however, when Barbossa leads them towards a massive waterfall—World's End. The crew attempts to slow the ship, which plunges over the edge and into darkness.
Davy Jones' Locker
In the maddening dimension of Davy Jones' Locker, Jack Sparrow is suffering under hallucinations onboard the Black Pearl. He sees multiple versions of himself crewing the ship, but cannot command any of them. He decides to take leave of his visions, and jumps off the ship. He finds himself in a vast, seemingly endless white-sand desert, where he encounters thousands upon thousands of crabs. Under sheer numbers, the crabs lift the Black Pearl and begin rolling it across the dunes, with Jack in pursuit. His former crew have meanwhile made it to the shore of the beach, having survived the fall into the Locker at the cost of the Hai Peng. The crabs retreat to Tia Dalma, just as the Black Pearl crests a nearby dune, Captain Jack Sparrow standing high on its mainmast.
The Black Pearl rolls into the ocean, and Jack is reunited with his crew, whom he initially mistakes for further hallucinations—until he spots Elizabeth, the woman who left him to die. He takes Barbossa's resurrection in stride, and begins choosing his new crew members, including Tai Huang's men but neglecting Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth, Pintel and Ragetti, all of them having been enemies with him in the past. During this exchange he also reveals to Will that Elizabeth betrayed him. However, as Barbossa holds the navigational charts, and Jack finds his compass useless in the Locker, he has no choice but to accept them as well.
The crew sets sail across the boundless seas of the Locker, with Jack and Barbossa competing for captaincy of "their" ship. Will encounters Elizabeth below decks, and they have what is possibly their first real conversation together since Jack's death. Will realizes that Elizabeth is not in love with Jack, but instead feels guilty for abandoning him to the Kraken. Nevertheless, Will finds himself unable to trust Elizabeth, and they part, their problems unresolved. As night falls, Pintel and Ragetti spot bodies floating in the doldrums, which Tia Dalma identifies as the souls of men and women drowned at sea. She further explains that it was the duty of Davy Jones, once a man, to care for these souls and usher them into the afterlife. In return, he would be able to reunite, every ten years, with "she who love him, truly". Following the floating bodies come boats occupied by a single soul. Elizabeth spots her father, and believes they are back in the land of the living, until Weatherby informs her that he thinks he is dead. He explains that he had learned about the Dead Man's Chest—that if one were to stab the heart within, their heart was bound to take its place—considering it a "silly thing to die for", though both Jack and Will find the news very interesting. Elizabeth attempts to bring her father aboard, but his boat sails on, Weatherby promising to give Elizabeth's love to her mother. Tia Dalma states that Weatherby is now at peace.
Up is Down
With the water and the rum gone, the situation aboard the Black Pearl is becoming dire. Jack continues to experience hallucinations, during which he begins to form a plan to kill Davy Jones and captain the Flying Dutchman himself, thus ensuring immortality. He receives inspiration, and is able to decipher the charts ("Up is Down"). He lures the crew into rocking the ship, tipping it upside down in the water just as the sun sets in the Locker. The Black Pearl is transported back into the land of the living at sunrise, where the crew immediately pull out their guns in a tense stand-off. Barbossa informs Jack that the Brethren Court is gathering, though Sparrow is adamant he will not be attending. He assures Barbossa he will not be returning to the Locker, and attempts to shoot him… finding that his pistol has become water logged and will not fire. The rest of the crew have suffered the same setback, and are forced to cooperate. Will locates a fresh water spring on a nearby island, to which the crew sails.
Good Business
There, they discover the corpse of the Kraken, over which Jack reflects on his own mortality. They locate the spring, but at that moment, the Empress, flagship of Sao Feng, is spotted off-shore—and Tai Huang reveals his true colours and ambushes Jack's crew. They are brought aboard the Black Pearl, where Feng greets Jack by punching him on the nose, before claiming that an "old friend" wishes to speak with him: directing his attention to the HMS Endeavour. Onboard, Jack meets Cutler Beckett, who reminds Jack that Davy Jones will still want his debt settled. Onboard the Black Pearl, Mercer claims the ship for the East India Trading Company, despite it having been promised to both Feng and Will. Beckett attempts to persuade Jack to give him information concerning the Brethren Court, while Barbossa tries to sway Feng into ending his deal with the Company. Barbossa reminds Feng that the Brethren has the power to release Calypso, and thus bring the "power of the seas" to bear against Beckett. Jack agrees to lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove, in exchange for the loyal members of his crew, though Beckett is interested in what Jack wishes for Elizabeth. Feng himself is also interested in Elizabeth, having been regarding her curiously while Barbossa spoke of Calypso. Over Will's objections, both Barbossa and Elizabeth agree to Feng's terms, while Beckett threatens to kill Jack, in order to use Jack's compass to find Shipwreck Cove. Jack warns him that if he does this, he will face the very difficult task of taking Shipwreck Cove by force, and offers to lure the Pirate Lords out of the fortress, in exchange for his debt to Jones being withdrawn. Feng finally agrees, able to take Elizabeth aboard the Empress and allow the Black Pearl to escape, and his men launch a broadside on the Endeavour. Barbossa duels with Mercer and fearing for his life, Mercer jumps off the ship.
Betrayal and Redemption
During the confusion, Jack seals his deal with Beckett and makes a swashbuckling escape back to the Black Pearl. Beckett orders the Flying Dutchman to pursue the Empress, though his own pursuit of Sparrow's crew is delayed by the damage suffered by his ship. Onboard the Empress, Feng has Elizabeth dressed in fine Chinese silks, and calls her "Calypso". Elizabeth plays along, though rebuffs Feng's romantic advances. The Pirate Lord becomes angry, and forces himself on her. At that moment, the ship comes under attack from the Flying Dutchman, and the Captain's cabin is hit. Elizabeth recovers to find Feng knocked against a wall, impaled on a piece of wood. He implores her to go to Shipwreck Cove in his place, giving her his piece of eight and names her his successor both as a Pirate Lord and captain of the Empress. He dies, still believing her to be Calypso, though Tai Huang is not ready to accept his new captain. The crew are rounded up on deck, where Elizabeth is reunited with Norrington. He claims to be unaware of Weatherby's death, and though he spares Elizabeth from Davy Jones, Elizabeth is unable to forgive him for choosing the side of the enemy.
Elizabeth and her new crew are locked in the brig of the Flying Dutchman while the Empress is towed behind. Elizabeth encounters William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner (Stellan Skarsgård), who has fallen into a state of madness, able only to recall his name, and that Will promised to free him. He manages to identify Elizabeth as the girl his son loves, and despairs that Will would never choose to bind himself to the Flying Dutchman and free his father, when he could remain with Elizabeth. He lapses back into insanity, forgetting the conversation completely, stating only that Will is coming for him.
Meanwhile, Beckett and Lieutenant Greitzer (David Meunier) are following a trail of bodies tied to barrels, evidently as a path to Shipwreck Cove. Beckett considers it to be a "gambit by a skilled opponent". It turns out that it is Will who is leaving the trail, and is confronted by Jack, who mocks Will's decision to do as promised at lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove. He then reveals his intention to replace Jones as captain of the Flying Dutchman, thus allowing Will to "avoid the choice" between Elizabeth and "Bootstrap". Jack considers binding himself to the Flying Dutchman to be a form of freedom, though is not prepared to do the duty. He hands Will his compass, then sends him overboard, intending him to be picked up by the Endeavour.
Onboard the Flying Dutchman, Elizabeth is surprised to find Norrington has re-evaluated his position, and helps she and her crew escape the ship. Elizabeth is initially dubious, though implores him to come with her back to the Empress when he decides to remain aboard the ship and hold off "Bootstrap Bill". Will's father is unable to realize Norrington is helping Elizabeth, adamant only that "no one leaves the ship". Norrington shoots the line linking the Empress to the Flying Dutchman, stopping Elizabeth from re-boarding to help him, and he is stabbed by the confused "Bootstrap". Dying, James is confronted by Davy Jones, who seems set to offer him the choice of service aboard the ship. In response, James thrusts his sword into Jones' shoulder before dying. Jones keeps the sword for himself, and with the admiral dead, believes command of the ship has returned to him. However, he enters his cabin only to find Mercer has taken the key to the Dead Man's Chest, becoming the Flying Dutchman's new commander.
Fourth Bretheren Court
The Black Pearl arrives at the shore of Shipwreck Island, where Barbossa confronts Tia Dalma. He names her as Calypso, and orders Pintel and Ragetti to lock her in the brig, ensuring she is unable to escape before Barbossa can free her. He is left contemplating the reason he was brought back from the dead by Dalma, and his fate should he fail to free Calypso.
Meanwhile, Davy Jones is summoned aboard the HMS Endeavour, where Cutler Beckett is drinking tea with Will. Turner informs Jones of Jack's continued survival, though Beckett soon turns the conversation to the subject of Calypso. Jones is particularly vehement in lambasting his former love, and is enraged to learn the Brethren intends to release her. Jones reveals that it was he who showed the first Brethren Court how to bind her, thus matching Calypso's betrayal with one of his own. Will now strikes a bargain of his own. In return for the freedom of his father Elizabeth, and himself, Will will help lead Beckett and Jones to Shipwreck Cove—with the help of Jack's compass. An additional price from Jones is that he would have Calypso murdered.
The fourth meeting of the Brethren Court is officially opened by Barbossa, who asks his fellow eight Lords to present their pieces of eight—symbols of their Lordship, though in actuality are little more than pieces of junk. Ragetti hands over his wooden eye as Barbossa's piece, though Jack attempts to stall for time in order to avoid handing in his piece. Elizabeth Swann interrupts at that moment, proclaiming the death of Sao Feng, and her position as his successor. The Brethren do not take well to this news, and do not take Elizabeth's warning that the Flying Dutchman is approaching, or her suggestion to fight seriously, believing Shipwreck Cove to be an impregnable fortress. Barbossa, however, voices his plan to free Calypso to use her wrath against Lord Beckett. The Court opposes the notion, and as arguments turn into provocations, the meeting descends into a brawl.
While the meeting continues, Davy Jones arrives onboard the Black Pearl, to confront Tia Dalma. He angrily asks her why she did not meet him on his one day ashore, and Dalma simply replies that it is her nature. She momentarily reverts Jones back to his human form, promising to give him her heart when she is freed. She also vows to turn against the Brethren Court, and show them the full extent of her cruelty.
The Court stops fighting for a moment to listen to a rambling monologue by Jack, who agrees with Elizabeth, stating that the pirates must fight, if only to run away, pointing out the dangers of the other two plans; Calypso may not be too friendly towards the pirates, and they may kill each other off if they hole up in Shipwreck Cove. However, Barbossa reminds the Court that a declaration of war can only be passed by the Pirate King—and no one has held that title since the first Brethren. To settle the matter, Barbossa calls upon Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code, who confirms Barbossa's statement. Jack calls for a vote, upon which each Pirate Lord votes for him or herself…until Jack seconds Elizabeth's vote, thus electing her Pirate King by popular vote. The Brethren is stunned, and was surely set to have overruled the Code had the infamous Teague not been present. With no other choice, Elizabeth accepts her new position, and declares war at dawn. As the meeting comes to a close, Jack asks Teague about the nature of immortality. Teague states that the trick of it is not simply living forever, but living forever with yourself. Their brief reunion ends with Teague reuniting Jack with his mother—now reduced to a shrunken head carried on Teague's belt.
Parley
As all the pirates get ready to fight, they see the horizon filled with Lord Beckett's massive fleet and became dumbstruck. Jack calls for a temporary parley, and he along with Elizabeth and Barbossa go to a small sand bar to meet up with Beckett, Jones, and Will. Jack's deal with Beckett is revealed, and in a fit of anger Barbossa slashes his sword at Jack, cutting off his Piece of Eight. Jack the monkey quickly grabs the piece. Elizabeth decides to trade Jack for Will. Jack is turned over to Jones, just as he had planned. As Barbossa, Elizabeth, and Will walk away Jack the monkey secretly hands Jack's Piece of Eight to Barbossa. Seeing an easy way out of the battle, Barbossa then frees Tia Dalma/Calypso and asks her to help in the battle between the pirates, Davy Jones, the Royal Navy, and the East India Trading Company with Will revealing Jones' betrayal of which she was unaware. However, Calypso disperses and Barbossa sees their last hope lost.
Maelstrom battle
However, Elizabeth didn't give up hope and tells the other pirates to "Hoist the Colours". As both fleets prepared for attack, a violent maelstrom emerges between the two fleets, implied to be the work of Calypso. The Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman then steer into the storm and battle each other fiercely. During the battle, Davy Jones takes command of the Dutchman completely when he kills Mercer and takes the key to his chest, but is caught in a fight with Jack Sparrow who escapes the brig thanks to a trick Will taught him.. The two crews of both ships eventually leap of the Dutchman and the Pearl and do battle. During this, Elizabeth and Will are joined in matrimony by Captain Barbossa while fighting the crew of the Flying Dutchman. While Barbossa is busy decapitating a crew member of the Flying Dutchman, the two ship's masts crash together.
Soon after, Will arrives on the Dutchman to only be in a duel with his father in which he defeats but doesn't kill his father. Jones defeats Elizabeth, but Will stabs him through the back, forgetting his heart is no longer there and is defeated by Jones who goes to kill him after seeing the love between him and Elizabeth. However, this allows Jack to get both the Key and the Chest and remove the heart which he threatens, but Jones stabs Will anyway. This breaks Bootstrap out of his insanity and he attacks Jones, allowing Jack time to help Will stab the heart, killing Davy Jones. Jones's last words are "Calypso", and he falls from the ship into the darkness of the maelstrom. Barbossa then orders the crew to shoot a chain at the masts, allowing him to safely guide the Black Pearl out of the Maelstrom. Jack and Elizabeth manage to escape the Dutchman by using a sail as a makeshift parasail and watch as the Flying Dutchman sinks into the Malestrom which then subsides.
Fate and the Fountain
Therefore Will is now the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Elizabeth is heartbroken, thinking Will is dead, but as the Flying Dutchman emerges from within the sea, Will is alive and the crew has returned to normal. The pirates of the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman then turn to face Cutler Beckett, and blow his ship apart, sinking it down to the watery depths. Beckett himself is consumed in the explosion and his body is blown overboard.
The pirates emerge victorious, but learn that the Flying Dutchman must stay in the undersea-world and can only come to shore for one day, every ten years. Will frees his father, but Bootstrap Bill decides to remain with his son on the ship of his own free will. Will and Elizabeth spend their "last day" together on a beach and she promises she will wait for him and keep his heart safe. After discovering that Barbossa has made off with the Black Pearl, Jack sails off in a dinghy. Barbossa attempts to show the crew where the Fountain of Youth is on Sao Feng's charts, but he discovers a large chunk has been removed from the charts by Jack himself. Jack begins his voyage to the Fountain of Youth himself.
Epilogue
Ten years later, Elizabeth and her son, William Turner III watch the setting sun sink into horizon, and then a flash of green light as the Flying Dutchman reappears, signifying Will's return from the Land of the Dead.
In the film, it is unclear whether Elizabeth's supposed fidelity would allow Will to be with her. Later, the writers, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, confirmed that the flash of green light seen at the end is the sign that Will's soul has returned to the world of the living, and that they can live together as a family; with their one day stretched to a lifetime.
Cast[]
Jack Sparrow - Johnny Depp
Will Turner - Orlando Bloom
Elizabeth Swann - Kiera Knightley
Hector Barbossa - Geoffery Rush
James Norrington - Jack Davenport
Davy Jones - Bill Nighy
Gibbs - Kevin McNally
Bootstrap Bill - Stellan Skarsgard
Cutler Beckett - Tom Hollander
Tia Dalma - Naiome Harris
Captain Teague - Keith Richards
Ian Mercer - David Schofeild
Weatherby Swann - Jonathan Pryce
Marty The Dwarf - Martin Klebba
Pintel - Lee Arenberg
Ragetti - Mackenzie Crook
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - At World's End Trailer
Official Trailer for At World's End.
Sao Feng - Chow Yun-Fat