Pirates of the Caribbean
At World's End'

Runtime: 168min 23secs
Tagline: At the End of the World, the Adventure Begins.
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio

Plot Outline
After Elizabeth (Keira Knightly), Will (Orlando Bloom), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the clutches of the Kraken (that place where he is dead but he can be brought back from), they must face their foes, Davey Jones (Bill Nighy) and Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander).

Beckett, now with control of Jones' heart, forms a dark alliance with him in order to rule the seas and wipe out the last of the Pirates. Now, Jack, Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth and crew must call the Pirate Lords from the four corners of the globe, including the infamous Sao Feng (Chow-Yun Fat), to a gathering that will make their final stand against Beckett, Jones, Norrington, the Flying Dutchman, and the entire East India Trading Company

Overal Impressions:
Plot outline sound like too much is going on? Well, it only covers half of it, if that. If you haven't seen the other 2 Pirates of the Caribbean films (Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest), this film will make no sense to you at all. That said, even if you have, its still all much too confusing to keep up with. The strange thing is I'm not really sure why half of the subplots are even there.

<*Vague Spoliers*>

When getting Jack back, they encounter another dead old friend, when asked if there is a way, they get the shake of the head, and Elizabeth has to be stopped, she can't go overboard in these waters else there is grave danger, yet in the next scene when they start rocking the boat because up is down, we see ample people (Extras) throw themselves over, but this is okay?

The entire plot around Calypso is clear misdirection with Sao Feng suspecting it was one person when it is later revealed it is another. When we do work out what's going on, it has yet another pointless subplot attached, a little love story that has no resolution. Calypso was locked up only to be released by them all, but it (as opposed to he/she since it's actually a ship) would then betray them, however, Does it? Doesn't it? Do we even see it? What happens with it? All a bit strange and unexplained.

The final battle of the Pirates vs the East India Company, huge numbers of fleets await, yets it's all over when one ship goes down? Why? Cutler Beckett's ship get's destroyed and it falls into a trance of a betrayal. "It's just good business" is what Cutler says walking his ship as it's destoyed, spectacular to watch, but what were they getting at? Were we suddenly supposed to feel sorry for him?

As the Flying Dutchman finally gets freed from Davies, the new Captain allows Turner to walk free but he decides to remain aboard. All very well but what about the rest of the crew, should they not be allowed to walk free too?

These are just some instances, there are so many backstabbings and betrayals that make little to no sense, it's as though they are merely there because, well that's what Pirates do right?

Performances are all top-notch, but it all just gets a bit plot-heavy and wordy to maintain your interest. The only thing gripping you is the odd witty one-liners that aren't too cheesy and the spectacular special effects. Direction, sound visuals, all spot on & it's worth seeing for this, even with the huge plot disorientation.

If you've seen the 1st one, it's a good place to stop. If you've seen the 2nd one you're pretty much commited anyway to see this to see how it is all resolved, but amongst the resolution is so much more to get lost in, that you'll probably wonder if it was worth it.

Is it one of the blockbusters you have to see at the cinemas because of the effects? Yes.
Is it one you'll buy on DVD and watch over and over for fun? No.