Complete overkill

Rating: 3/10 (22 June 2012)

Although I didn't enjoy the first PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movie, I forced myself to sit through the sequel, DEAD MAN'S CHEST, in the hope that things would pick up a bit. They didn't, but in the interests of completeness I decided to check out this, the final part in the initial trilogy, in the hope that things would improve.
They don't. Like its predecessors, AT WORLD'S END is a bloated and overblown exercise in style over substance. Featuring a cast that the director finds it impossible to keep track, endless action sequences that have no discernible beginning or end, repetitive sword fights in which nobody is ever killed or seemingly wounded, and a complete lack of realism from beginning to end, this is everything I hate about Hollywood blockbusters.
There's no character development whatsoever. Johnny Depp is still the irritating, one-dimensional character he played in the original movie. There are WAY too many supporting characters and the screen time between them is spread too thinly, so that few get a look in. Yes, the special effects are splendid, spectacular and photo-realistic, but the effects never make a film and these PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies are a case in point. No matter how much money you're going to throw at a blockbuster, if it doesn't have a good story then it's going to sink.