Lovin' me some Pirates ... SPOILER ALERT!

If you haven't seen Pirates III and plan to, stop reading! I'm just going to spill all of its secrets!!!

Nobody makes a life of piracy look so glamorous (or as sexy) as Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly. Most reviews I read expressed major disappointments in the third installment of the swashbuckling trilogy. Each critic gave the flick mediocre ratings at best. But, one in particular pointed out something crucial to the imminent success of Pirates III -- who cares? And he's absolutely right. It could have had no consistent plot and fans would go out in droves just to see it and Jerry Bruckheimer could just roll around in his millions.

Personally, I felt Pirates deserved a higher rating than a mere C+. Maybe I was distracted from its lack of cinematic value by all the Captain Jack's running around the screen when the real Sparrow was hallucinating, but still, I found myself entertained for the better part of three hours, and isn't that really the goal?

I agree with the assessment that the plot got a little TOO tricky in parts -- Why did the Singapore dude hate Jack again? And good luck figuring out who is on whose side... And I would have loved to see more Keith Richards who is subtly portrayed as, not only the keeper of the Pirate Code, but also Jack's father.

I have to say that I thought that Kiera Knightly's character, Elizabeth Swann, was absolutely incredible. She was fantastic as a strong, independent woman who is clearly in a man's world. But she doesn't merely exist in the man's world, she dominates it as the Pirate King and it is ultimately her to inspires the hopeless pirates to band together to fight the evil tyranny of the East India Trading Company and defend piracy (which clearly symbolizes freedom). That speech she gave on the boat before the final battle scene wasn't unlike that of Aragorn in the final Lord of the Rings movie, I felt. I love where the writers went with that character.

And I can't believe I've gone this long without mentioning Depp's performance. Captain Jack is a rock star (which is not to play off that whole thing where Captain Jack is based off Keith Richards). He's this wild, bad, manipulative being that I can't help but love because he's also witty, endearing, utterly brilliant and ultimately, very honorable. And that's not to mention the fact that I love the loser. In the end it is Jack who is left without anything or anybody but Gibbs and his pirate wenches (both of whom he manages to alienate in the final moments of the film).

FINALLY!! Orlando Bloom's Will Turner is not such a pretty boy goody-goody. Well, I mean... he his, but he's not. He finally comes into his own as a pirate which was so rewarding. I must say I had quite the scare when Davy Jones stabbed him. I was really, really shocked and I didn't realize that he could come back to life after Jack forced his hand to stab Jones' heart. But, let me tell you, that moment when the Flying Dutchman popped out of the water with an incredibly hot (for once) Orlando Bloom at the helm, shirt slightly open to show the scar from his heart being carved out, I was so relieved. He was able to keep his promise to his father, which I thought was a lost cause. Although, not being able to be with his new wife except for one day every ten years? That might cause problems.

But I loved where they showed Will and Elizabeth together for that one day to start a ten-year period of separation. That was probably the perfect amount of romance. Although, I didn't find it nearly as romantic as their marriage that was performed mid-confrontation with the EITC.

Overall, I loved it. I thought it was better and darker than the second movie. But, like I said, it doesn't matter if it's any good... because you'll see it anyway. Probably twice.