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After the tedious, disappointing Dead Man's Chest, I had my doubts as to whether the third license to print money... oops, the third film in the series would be worth my time. Fortunately, At World's End fixes most everything that was wrong with its predecessor. The pacing is better, the action sequences are more fun, and while the acting isn't going to win any major awards, there are a couple of performances that actually aren't embarrassing.

The plot is so insanely convoluted you need a scorecard to keep track of the various double-crosses, but basically it picks up from where the second film left off: Cutler Beckett is in possession of Davy Jones's heart, and is using his control over Jones and the Flying Dutchman to eliminate pirate vessels; and Will and Elizabeth, assisted by the resurrected Barbossa, are on a quest to bring Captain Jack back from his limbo state in Davy Jones's Locker. Barbossa also wants to convene a meeting of the Pirate Lords in order to mount a final stand against Beckett's forces; but the first one he seeks out, Sao Feng of Singapore (played with scene-chewing gusto by Chow-Yun Fat), is a little reluctant to cooperate.

The fight in Singapore alone is more exciting than the entirety of Dead Man's Chest, and from there it only gets better, with an almost avant-garde hallucination scene where Jack imagines multiple versions of himself aboard the Black Pearl, and a series of hazardous situations and narrow escapes leading to the final confrontation with Davy Jones. Bill Nighy gets more of an opportunity to act this time around, since Jones's scenes before that fight emphasize his human side; the filmmakers have also wisely de-emphasized his crew of cursed fish-men, though Will's attempts to rescue his father from his bondage on Jones's ship is one of the major plot strands. The love story of Will and Elizabeth has also been mercifully cut down to a handful of scenes, all of which still feel unnecessary; and Elizabeth becomes even more of a self-sufficient heroine this time around, to the extent that she's ultimately elected king of the pirates.

Yes, it's absurd, but it's an entertaining and enjoyable sort of absurdity; and that atmosphere is only enhanced by Geoffrey Rush. His cackling, gleefully ridiculous revival of Barbossa is a large part of the movie's fun; and his performance helps balance out Johnny Depp's increasingly self-conscious Captain Jack shtick. (I somehow missed Keith Richards's cameo as Jack's father; I know it was in there somewhere, but it completely passed me by.) It's still a little overlong, and the ending is left open for a fourth installment that's sure to be unnecessary and unrewarding; but on the whole, At World's End is a damn good action movie. It's sure as hell more fun to watch than Spider-Man 3.

Rating- 8/10