At world’s end.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - (Gore Verbinski, 2007)

I watched Dead Man's Chest and briefly fell asleep after I guess an hour and a half and woke up only to find that my friend was sleepy as hell as well. I didn't finish it and only managed to watch the missed last parts on video. It's almost the same experience with At World's End, only this time I was forcing myself so hard to regain consciousness hoping for something epic of proportions. At various points, the images on the big screen would seem lucid, an indication that I was on the way to dreamland. Even old Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) tricks fail to amuse me anymore.

The third Pirates installment is so unnecessarily long. Though I am not the one to say that some subplots should be scrapped, because considering that this the last of the franchise, the director might have everything in his disposal for a grand showdown. The longevity of it wasn't able to sustain any energy to up the ante, even the the overwrought romance can't find its place against the mishmash of talky connivances, except that, to finally emphasize the two lovers' — Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) — longing, their awaited kiss is set in the backdrop of swordfights in the midst of a huge maelstrom.

There is really something good going here like the interesting character explorations of both Swann and Will Turner, the sudden steppin'-to-good-side of Capt. Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) and even Sparrow's comeback. Even the character of Chow Yun Fat was an interesting diversion, but only to be underutilize for a purpose. But the director is perhaps too enmeshed with the idea and expectation that this is a summer blockbuster in the first place, thus, explosions, and the kiss amidst a gigantic storm and old tricks that are not only unnecessary but borders on mere sillininess. I can't believe people are actually laughing so hard (with matching seat-slapping) with the friggin' monkey when it's fucking annoying already.