Sails off the edge but comes back in one piece.

Rating: 7/10 (3 April 2020)

At nearly three hours long, 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007)' is baggy. It's also rather messy. There are so many backstabs and underhanded deals that it's actually confusing at times: who's double-crossing who while protecting someone else? The thing also suffers from a bit of a villain problem; it severely neuters Davy Jones, taking his presence from threatening to almost comedic, and attempts to replace him with the smarmy Beckett and his East India Company, who make compelling side villains but can't hold a candle to their more memorable pirate counterparts. After the first hour, which is spent mopping up the mess left by the sequel-bait ending of 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)', the film starts to pick up the pace and move towards its genuinely thrilling finale with increasing vigour. Indeed, it feels distinct from its predecessor despite the fact it was filmed back-to-back with it as, for all intents and purposes, a 'part two'. It has its own, increasingly 'epic' aesthetic and it's really rather visually impressive. The VFX team clearly made good use of the time between this film and the last, as the CGI has improved greatly. The aforementioned finale is amazing, with sea-weary ships entwining over a maelstrom as pirates lock swords on their masts. This leads into a satisfying ending that ties up all the trilogy's arcs rather well, while still leaving things 'open' for potential sequels. Overall, the movie has its issues but its climax is fantastic and, even at its worst, it's always entertaining. It isn't the best of the series but it isn't the worst, either. It's a solid, swashbuckling adventure. 7/10