The saddest part for me is that one of film's most original villains, Davy Jones, loses much of his menace and bite for about half the film. It’s like turning the role of Darth Vader into a bit part. Fortunately there comes a moment when he once again asks someone if they fear death, and the Jones I found so fascinating for the last film finally returns to form. I love the fact that Davy Jones asks people that question: Do you fear death? It’s a question we all must face, but would quite frankly rather avoid. In Pirates, characters go to great lengths to find ways to either avoid death or find a way to live forever. In fact, in one of the few quiet scenes of the film, Barbossa tells Sparrow that, while returning from the dead isn’t a sure thing (despite both of them having done so), the end of life always is, though they desperately wished it wasn’t.

Well, the fact is the end of life doesn’t have to be a sure thing. Death is not as inevitable as you might think. You can live forever, and don’t even have to sails to world’s end to find out how. The Bible tells us, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 NIV). Eternal life is freely available for any who want it, and it isn’t nearly as difficult to attain as movies like Pirates make it seem. All you have to do is believe, surrender, and ask.

PotC:AWE can be summed up in a single scene of the film: an entire armada awaits to destroy the assembled pirate fleet. Ships stretch endlessly over the horizon, but only two race forward into battle. True, the battle is spectacular, thrilling and awe-inspiring, but we never see the rest of the ships fight. Pirates is full of spectacle, adventure, action and more, but it doesn’t really deliver everything it could have. There’s a lot left out. Does that mean it isn’t satisfying? No. It is definitely a solid conclusion to the Pirates trilogy (with the door left open for the possibility of more adventures to follow). Still, it lacks the heart and depth to make this franchise a truly classic one, which is too bad because the material is there; it just isn’t utilized.