It's not rocket science.

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2008)

All I ever seem to hear about At World's End from the majority of people I come across is, "It's too confusing." How exactly? I know the characters all have their own hidden--or not so hidden--agendas and constantly back stab each other, but is it really that hard to follow? Will wants to keep Elizabeth safe and save his father; Elizabeth wants to be with Will and avenge her father's death; Barbossa wants to free Calypso, as well as steal back the Black Pearl from Jack; Jack wants immortality, and uses everyone in his quest to get it. Pretty clever of him once you notice that his plan is formulated from the first time we see him and gets strung throughout the entire film. I needed to see the movie a couple times before I caught every bit of this, but really. It's not rocket science.
I do have to say, though, that in order to follow along, you must pay close attention to the film. I know most people going to see a summer blockbuster don't want to watch a film where they'll have to follow along closely to catch everything, but you have to do so with this film, and apparently with its predecessor, Dead Man's Chest, as well. If you're looking to watch a film where all you have to do is sit and enjoy the show, then I'd suggest looking elsewhere. Unless, of course, you don't care about the plot and just want to see the amazing visual effects. You'll definitely hit the jackpot with this film if that's your only reason for seeing it.
Oh, and just so we're clear--as this film is classified as a sequel, that generally means that in order to understand it, you should see the first two before you see this one. That's just common sense.
Overall, I'd probably give this film an 8/10. While the eye candy, in more ways than one, leave you utterly breathless and in wonderment as to how they manage to make everything look so real, the script, as well as character development, are sorely lacking in certain areas. Particularly with Keira Knightley's character, Elizabeth. It's great to see a female character hold her own against a cast mostly made up of men, but I think the bar was risen a bit too high in her case.
Even with the somewhat lacking, cheesy script, the actors all seem to bring as much to their roles as they possibly can. Johnny Depp is as brilliant as ever. I mean, when is he not? Keira Knightley does what she can with her role; she plays the part well, no matter how Mary Sue-ish it turns out to be. We all know that Orlando Bloom isn't the best actor out there, but he played his part well in this one, I think. At World's End was a step up from Dead Man's Chest, at least. And who could forget Geoffrey Rush? Certainly not me.
Despite what the majority of people say, this film is not that confusing. Really, it's not. If my ten year old cousin caught onto everything the first time she saw it, then I'm pretty sure you all will be able to as well.