Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

So, are you ready for more of the madcap adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (dashing Johnny Depp) — all 2:40 hours' worth? When we left him last, Sparrow was confined mind, body and soul inside Davy Jones' (emoting Bill Nighy) locker, and Elizabeth (feisty Keira Knightly), Will (earnest Orlando Bloom), Captain Barbossa (redoubtable Geoffrey Rush), and a passel of pirates were on the hunt for him.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End starts off on a completely somber, strange note quite unlike its predecessors: a queue of captured and convicted pirates each await their turn at the gallows and are hung, one by one, until a brave upstart turns the tide — and then the tone of the film quickly does the same.

While it is not as funny or surprising as the first movie, or as rambling or slapstickish as the second, the last puzzle piece in the trilogy is a mixed bag of drama, comedy, suspense and horror that finally winds up as a fitting finale (though it does seem that the door is left unlocked for a possible follow-up somewhere down the road) for the wildly successful franchise.

With a definite tangy Asian flavor this time around, POTC3 features the roving sea rogues of Singapore, who are led by the taciturn Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). He reluctantly joins forces with Barbossa and co. to fight their common enemy, while Will tries to also rescue his father Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) from his ever-increasing mental miasma; all of this is on the way to the final stand against heartless villains Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), Jones, and Norrington (Jack Davenport). As anticipated, Rolling Stone Keith Richards shows up at a pirate conference as Jack's dad and the Keeper of the Pirate Code, and the mysterious Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) is back for some more chants and spells.

While POTC3 is often vexing in its subplots, double-crosses and basic meanderings, it does have some truly breathtaking visual moments. An early scene set in 18th century Singapore is almost Expressionistic, though lit incandescently by Chinese lanterns; then some desert island shots look as though they were composed by David Lean; while another moment at sea brings to mind Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night.

For horror and dark fantasy fans wondering about the monstrous Davy Jones, the legendary Kracken, and ghostly pirates — they're all here, but the story is really more about the end of an era. I recommend it, but only heartily for the diehard fans.

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