Third go's more exhausting than thrilling

Rating: 5/10 (23 May 2007)

Capping a month of underachieving third installments, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" suffers the same problem as its immediate predecessor has: it's too long and overstuffed. It's visually arresting up to a certain point but one might get a case of blockbuster fatigue long before every subplot (and there are lots) has been resolved. It's essentially a sugar rush, initially appealing, and then exhausting, finally leaving one bloated and dazed.
Picking up after the events of "Dead Man's Chest", "At World's End" begins with a crew composed of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) journeying into the World's End, where Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has been held up after his encounter with the Kraken. Then together with Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) of Singapore and other pirates that comprise the Brethren of the Coast, they set the stage for a large scale battle with Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who has been determined to eradicate piracy. With Jones' heart  and consequently his service  in tow, Beckett poses a threat to the pirates' survival. Jack and the others now have to go up against The Flying Dutchman, Jones' ship from which no ordinary ship stands a chance.
While "At World's End" does the job in terms of action scenes during the climax, it does so at the expense of its running time. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's script is confusing and it takes too long to get to its main point with gratuitously intricate plot lines that get the better of what should have been a straightforward escapist fare. By the time the film gets to the main course, the abundant starters have already more than filled one up.
It doesn't help that much of the novelty and zing of the franchise is missing. Sure, Depp has still enough verve to deliver some of the film's limited amusing scenes but the film's myriad of characters constantly yanks one out of his character that eventually, one might wish there would be less of others and more of Captain Jack (not literally though, if you get the drift). There's also not much intimidating factor as far as villains go resulting to a lack of tension, and with so much turncoats going around it's hard to actually know who you're supposed to be rooting for.
As far as spectacle is concerned, "At World's End" succeeds. But it's too self-absorbed with its own mythology, cramming so many elements and achieving little. Fans of the franchise probably won't mind; but to everyone else, it's a sorry exercise of overindulgence.
And, oh yeah, you might want to stick around after the credits for an extra scene that hints, well, another go for a ride.