Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

 

With the clear sequelbaiting at the end of the previous outing, it stands to reason this one starts where the previous one left us, with Jack Sparrow gone to the beyond, Barbossa pretty inexplicably back alive and the world turning to turmoil as the East-India Trading Company wants domination over the seas and the utter annihilation of all things pirate.

Yes, it's quite a handful. Yes, this is also why this film at times feels incredibly bloated. 

In order to rescue Sparrow, our intrepid team of unlikely heroes needs to travel to Singapore and acquire a map held by Sao Feng, one of the nine pirate lords. This can be used to travel beyond the edges of the world and into Davy Jones' locker. But betrayal and deceit are everywhere and after barely making it out alive, Will, Elizabeth and Barbossa head to the north, where apparently your ship can tumble off the edge and so enter the beyond.

If it was that simple... Well, magic, I guess.

They do find Jack and through shenanigans bring him back, as the nine pirate lords are all necessary to bring back the goddess Calypso, who hopefully will help the pirates in their fight against Cutler Beckett and his fleet. Only one problem:; the first pirate lords bound the goddess in human form and she was then betrayed by her then lover Davy Jones.

Yes, it is a lot. Stay with it. 

So now it's all hands on deck (yes, deliberate pun) in a final showdown between Jones, Beckett and pretty much everyone else.

Phew.

It might seem fairly straightfoward, but trust me, this film does get a little convoluted and difficult to track at times. It hops and skips from one storyline to another, often with no rhyme or reason and the amount of 'coincidences' is staggering. Not only that, but especially Will Turner shifts sides so often, you'll almost feel like being stuck in a revolving door for the past three hours. 

No, it's not very coherent. And adding a plethora of new characters that don't do much, doesn't help either.

However, there is still good to be found. Geoffrey Rush is a treat as Barbossa and Johnny Depp now fully embraces the bonkers' nature of Jack Sparrow. The opening scene with the hanging is incredibly dark and poignant and the part where Sparrow is alone in the locker having hallucinations is wonderfully bizarre and memorable. But after that the film basically becomes a flashy CG extravaganza that culminates in an absolutely ludicrous naval battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchmen and people swashbuckling all over the place.

Or is that buckling swash? 

The ending means to tug on our heartstrings yet again, but by that time, you will feel rather exhausted. And there's of course more sequelbaiting, because a lucrative franchise needs to be run into the ground. 

Sure, this is an enjoyable pastime, but the charm of the original has been severely diminished and now it's just chaotic spectacle upon chaotic spectacle. So if you can't stand too much being thrown at you, then this might not be the best way to spend a relaxing evening.