MovieMantz Review: 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End'

'Pirates' Of The Confusion: At Wit's End

by Scott Mantz

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp
Directed by: Gore Verbinski

Dead men tell no tales -- but if they did, they would probably make more sense than the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels.

If you thought last year's Dead Man's Chest was a bloated, jumbled, incoherent mess, then brace yourself for the most baffling installment yet -- At World's End. That hardly matters, since it's bound to match the box office booty of its predecessor, which navigated past the rough waters of poor reviews to sail away with more than $1 billion worldwide (making it the third-highest grossing movie of all time behind Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).

Otherwise, At World's End is more of the same -- just a lot more of it, clocking in at 2 hours and 47 minutes. That makes it the longest chapter yet, but it's also the most confusing one, since it's tangled with too many subplots and lacks the sense of fun that infused the 2003 original, The Curse of the Black Pearl. As a result, no amount of swashbuckling stunts, lavish production values and expensive special effects can disguise the fact that Pirates 3 is lost at sea.

When we last saw Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), he was pulled into the depths of the ocean by the monstrous Kraken. In order to save him, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and the resurrected Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) must travel to Singapore to form an uneasy alliance with Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). They must also contend with the evil Admiral Norrington (Jack Davenport), who has taken to destroying pirate ships without mercy aboard the captured Flying Dutchman. With their future at stake, Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa and Captain Jack must regain control of the high seas, or they will lose their pirate-loving freedom forever.

It might be easier to refer to At World's End as Pirates 3, but on a stylistic level, it's more like Pirates 2: Part 2. That's because director Gore Verbinski once again piles on the CGI to the level of overkill, which only makes it more difficult for Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and the rest of the actors to shine through with their noble performances. It doesn't help that returning screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio pile on even more twists and turns than they did in Dead Man's Chest, resulting in a convoluted film that makes standing in line for the Disney theme park ride seem like a lot more fun by comparison.

At least Johnny Depp comes to the rescue, even if it takes him over 30 minutes to do so. His flamboyant turn as Captain Jack Sparrow -- which won him an Oscar nomination for the first Pirates film -- is the movie's saving grace (albeit, barely), and after being rumored for years, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards does indeed make an appearance as his dad (a nice touch, since he was Depp's inspiration behind Jack Sparrow in the first place).

There's no question that At World's End will brake open the box office treasure chest when it opens on the Memorial Day holiday weekend (one of the biggest weekends of the year), but it doesn't end the series on the high note that moviegoers deserved. Then again, it may not be over at all, since it leaves the door wide open for a Pirates 4 (and as for what that could be about, don't even think about leaving before the house lights come up).

And if Disney does decide to set sail with another installment, here's hoping that it will put more time into making a coherent film. At least that will help keep those pesky Pirates of the Caribbean from getting lost in another sea on confusion.

VERDICT: SKIP IT!