All good things must come to an end...

Rating: 7/10 (6 June 2007)

The summer blockbuster. Those films that are so highly anticipated all winter long that millions of people around the world flock to cinemas and spend millions and millions of dollars just to see what all the buzz is about.
Fortunately, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is worth the price of admission. Director Gore Verbinski did the right thing in holding true to the story, bringing back all of the characters and not introducing too many new ones.
When we last left our band of pirates, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was eat by the Cracken, a giant squid that terrorizes sea-faring vessels, and was sent to Davey Jones Locker. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), and the rest of their pirate brigade, must bring together all of the pirate lords from the four corners of the world and try to combat Davey Jones and the East India Trading Company for control over the seas. There is one problem; Depp is one of the pirate lords and all nine are needed.
The crew must travel to the end of the world to get Depp and bring him back to complete the Pirate counsel and make a decision on what to do about Davey Jones. They all band together along with Chow-Yun Fat as Captain Sao Feng whose pirates derive from Singapore.
The first half of the film is dry in parts, but with Depp and Rush back at the helm, it is hard to go wrong. There are some very interesting scenes with Depp battling his own conscience and trying to stay "sane". The second half really picks up and erupts into a climactic battle of epic proportions on the open sea.
The flow of the film is steady and twists and turns enough to slightly confuse you, but in the end it all makes sense and that feeling of being lost is gone. Alliances are broken and new ones are formed as the final showdown gathers into a fantastic storm of edge of your seat action.
Verbinski finishes off the trilogy using the same techniques that worked on the two previous films; a hefty dose of computer effects and witty one liners. Additional swooping shots showcase the grand scale of the film and how far Verbinski and Disney Pctures goes to bring this world to life.
The one downside like the second film in the series had was the running time. This one goes for a whopping 168 minutes and it hits you. After the final frame, a feeling of exhaustion sweeps over you. DON'T LEAVE AFTER THE CREDITS! Stay for the bonus scene. It gives the series a nice wrap up.
No, there shouldn't be a Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Like all blockbuster hits, there is a limit to how far you can go (i.e. Jurassic Park. Love the first, not the rest). At World's End is a solid finale to one of the most successful trilogies of all time.