Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Honestly, after sitting through this near-three hour movie, I still don't know if I can begin to tell you what "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is about. There is so much happening between so many different characters who plot against each other while working together that by the end of it all I was, and still remain, quite confused.

This third entry in the trilogy opens with Will (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) working together to rescue Jack (Johnny Depp) from Davy Jones' locker. It's here where Jack has been confined to a solitary existence that is driving him toward insanity. At the same time, pirates around the world are having to face battle with the Flying Dutchman, the ultimate pirate ship captained by Davy Jones himself (Bill Nighy). He's attacking other pirates as he is under the control of a devious British commander. It's decided by the main pirates of the world in a gathering of "the brethren" that they must join forces to fight for their way of life.

Confusing enough? There's also the story of Will trying to rescue his father, Elizabeth becoming a pirate captain herself, the weird voodoo woman actually being the sea spirit Calypso, and the story of the pieces of eight. Way too many things happening all at once, all while being conveyed by actors speaking in heavy accents that at times make them impossible to understand.

With that said, there are positives here. The special effects and action scenes are amazing. The final showdown between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman is nothing less than incredible. Johnny Depp, as usual, carries the movie. The effects and Depp combine for a classic scene when Jack Sparrow first appears in the movie where his madness creates multiple Jacks on the boat, each having his own personality. The levity of the first movie is much more apparent here than in the second movie as well.

All in all, "Pirates" is a summer movie where you're better off just watching what's happening on the screen without putting too much thought into it. It's complicated and incomprehensible, but great to look at and breathtaking at the same time. You definitely cannot see "At World's End" without having seen the other two stories, and the ending does leave an opening for more adventures. When all was said and done, I was glad we reached the end of "At World's End". I give it a B-.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is rated PG-13 with a running time of 165 minutes.