This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
At one point in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," a British naval officer says admiringly of the crazy cavalier Capt. Jack Sparrow, "Do you think he plans it all out, or makes it up as he goes along?"
And with that, a movie overstuffed with big action scenes, bombastic special effects, ridiculous plot devices and Johnny Depp's baroque acting - and clocking in at a seat-squirming two hours and 47 minutes - also includes its own pinpoint-accurate critique.
The third installment in Disney's blockbuster series begins by trying to clean up the mess left behind by the second chapter, "Dead Man's Chest." Depp's Captain Jack is in Davy Jones' Locker (a role played by Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats), and the rest of the ensemble - led by stalwart Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), feisty Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), voodoo priestess Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) and newly resurrected Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) - must rescue him from the netherworld.
Why do they need Jack? Many reasons are given - mostly about reconvening the Brethren Court, sort of a United Nations of pirates, to unite against the twin threats of a vengeful Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and the East India Company's scheming Lord Cutter Beckett (Tom Hollander). But those plot contrivances, not so much scripted (by "Pirates" veterans Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) as amassed, are easily ignored for the one true reason: No Jack, no movie.
Director Gore Verbinski makes sure we get plenty of Jack, including multiple Jacks in a couple of humorous moments, and Depp's delight at playing the teetering pirate is as infectous as ever. But too much of the movie - including Will and Elizabeth's romantic machinations, a bizarre subplot involving Jones' lost love Calypso, the introduction of Chow Yun-Fat as a Singapore pirate (in a scene reminiscent of the opening of "Return of the Jedi" in Jabba the Hutt's lair) and the much-hyped Keith Richards cameo - feels tacked on and way too extraneous for a movie taking up so much of the viewer's time. (If you go, though, stay through the credits for a nice final scene.)
As with any Jerry Bruckheimer production, the action is adeptly staged and looks really cool. But often looking cool comes at the expense of making sense, as in the way two characters are handled in the final reel - one dispatched far too quickly, while the other receiving a death scene far more noble than he deserves.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" delivers its share of thrills, spills and hearty pirate laughter. But by the final chaotic battle, the overwhelming feeling it generates is relief that the whole enterprise is over.
SEAN P. MEANS can be reached at movies@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">movies@sltrib.com or 801-257-8602. Send comments about this review to livingeditor@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">livingeditor@sltrib.com.