“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

Walt Disney Pictures

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Stellan Skarsgard and Chow Yun-Fat

Rated PG-13

2 1/2 Stars

“The Pirates of the Caribbean” are back for a third installment in what has become the contemporary gold standard of popcorn entertainment. We’re talking about nearly three hours of thrilling action, amazing special effects and a cast of movie stars who are obviously having a blast bringing their characters to life. The film is a lot of fun and will easily be one of the top draws this summer. On the other hand, it must be said that this cinematic ship is so over-stuffed with characters and intricate plot lines that it’s starting to take on a bit of water.

We pick things up with Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) racing to rescue Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) from the ranks of the undead, which brings them into conflict with the Chinese Pirate, Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) who is the guardian of World’s End. Complicating matters is Will’s desire to rescue his father (Stellan Skarsgard) from captivity aboard Davey Jones’ ship of the undead, “The Flying Dutchman” and the need for our heroes to gather the heads of the nine pirate clans so that they can defeat the East India Trading Company.

As you might guess, the myriad plot lines and characters that weave in and out of the film make “Pirates 3” into a very complex tale. They should hand navigation charts out when you buy a ticket so that you can keep track of what’s going on here. It’s confusing, but never so much so that you disengage from the movie. And the truth be told, you don’t have to have a coherent story when you’ve got Captain Jack and all those cool special effects sequences.

Johnny Depp is once again the de-facto star, even though he doesn’t really appear until an hour into the proceedings. Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and that mischievous monkey are also quite enjoyable, almost stealing the show at times. But the real star of the film is the special effects, which are as good as anything you’ve ever seen on film. “Pirates 3” ends with a half-hour naval battle that’s so intense that the world is literally turned upside down. It’s thrilling, popcorn-perfect cinematic magic.

So the bottom line is that “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is over-stuffed and a bit campy, but it won’t matter because audiences should love this thrilling conclusion to the “Pirates” trilogy. Better still, they leave the possibility open that Captain Jack could return for yet another sequel.

Aye! I’ll drink to that.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in The Port Arthur News. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.