'Pirates 3' returns to original form - sort of

Rating: 5/10 (21 May 2007)

If ever a film prematurely broadcasts a sequel, it's "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End." Halfway through the three-hour plus feature, one gets the distinct feeling that there will be another installment. Near the end, there is no doubt Capt. Jack Sparrow & Co. will be back for more.
Especially if these movies continue to almost double their predecessor's take.
Here, no expense is spared in CGI, effects, cinematography, set design and location costs. It's too bad the story is a bit muddled (certainly not as much as "Dead Man's Chest") and the running time is too long.
Other than that, part three is all about action and entertainment with a few nice twists at the conclusion. It about 40 minutes too long, but what there is of it, holds one s attention fairly well.
Here's the plot - if I can synopsize it with any clarity: Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is in the Land of the Dead (the Bonneville Salt Flats) where he is doomed to haul the Black Pearl over the alabaster turf for eternity.
Meanwhile, the British-sponsored East India Company (led by Lord Cutler Beckett - Thomas Hollander) has cracked down on Pirates throughout the Pacific Rim (aided by the Flying Dutchman), hanging dozens of criminals and their associates in efficient, economical multiple executions.
In far off Singapore, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) and Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush, Oscar winner for "Shine") meet with Asian pirate lord, Sao Feng (Yun Fat-Chow, "The Replacement Killers," "Bulletproof Monk") to convince him and his charges to oppose the EIC. A series of firefights, however, disrupts those plans -for a while, at least.
William Turner (Orlando Bloom), sent to serve on the Flying Dutchman to pay the penance for Sparrow's misdeeds, once again vows to his father, Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), to deliver him from the clutches of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy).
Finally sailing "over the edge and over again," Barbossa, Swann and the pirates rescue Jack and begin sailing to Shipwreck Island to meet with all nine pirate lords to discuss the freeing of the Goddess Calypso (Naomie Harris), who has assumed human form.
Later, in the movie's most unintentionally hilarious scene, during the climactic battle between the forces of Davy Jones, the East India Company and the pirate federation, Calypso begins to grow until she resembles a 50-foot Michael Jackson. I cannot think of anything creepier than that, friends.
Some highlights include Sparrow's hallucinating conversations with himself; thousands of rocks/crabs that transport the Black Pearl through the desert; a gory hanging sequence; some typical swashbuckling and daring-do; beautiful set locations from the Bahamas to Singapore to the Antartic; and some decent acting (for this type of film).
Moments of incredulity do occur, such as Lord Beckett's complete idiocy as an 18th century English sea commander, Swann's conversion into a silly Ang Lee heroine and some overdone subplots, but overall, the experience is a positive one.
Critics and others who say this completes the trilogy, though, must not have watched the film as I did, since the ambiguous conclusion leaves no resolution and the last frames almost announce to the world, "Argh! There be a sequel coming!"
Also, while it may be a chore to some, try to sit through all of the credits for a small but interesting payoff.