Wow. I’m surprised at the consensus! I absolutely loved all three! The thickness of atmosphere just can’t be beat, visually these three movies just MAKE the genre.
But my favorite part is the whole three-movie arc as it relates to the notions of magic and freedom on the one hand and capitalist empire and the enclosure of the commons on the other. The whole arc is so much more meaty than ANYTHING in it’s class (big-budget Hollywood franchises). The East India Company brings capitalist empire (instead of just old-fashioned empire) to the free Caribbean. There’s this whole subtext about hope and magic and beauty resisting regimentation and hierarchy and power as the Pirate world wrestles with how to deal with the end of freedom (literally, free, unfettered space on the high seas) in the form of Company.
Jack and Barbossa survey the carcass of the Kraken. They’re trying to deal with the enormity of what they’re looking at: Empire and Capital have grown so powerful that they have succeeded in slaying this symbol of nature’s (the sea’s; the wild’s; magic’s) power. Barbossa: “The world’s getting so much smaller.” Jack: “No, there’s just a lot less in it.”
The time period is such a pivotal one, and these films have so much fun with the genre and the subject matter. SO great! I love ‘em!