Issue 155

Preview: Pirates of the Carribean - At World's End

14th May 2007

The multitude of plots, sub-plots and numerous loose strings look set to be all neatly tied up in the third and final instalment of the 'Pirates' trilogy. Not before a whole new set of cliff-hangers, near misses and some unnecessary plot twists are dealt with, however.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is rescued by Elizabeth (Keira Knightly) and Will (Orlando Bloom), with the unlikely aid of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). They then group together the Pirate Lords from the four corners of the globe to make a final stand against Davey Jones and chums; hell bent on clearing out all Pirate riff-raff and ruling the ocean for their own fun and games.

Whether or not Johnny Depp's slurring, swaggering creation will finally become just a little too predictable and annoying remains to be seen, though he will of course still be star of the show with Bloom and Knightly doing their very best to out-do each other's impressions of silver birch trees.

The inclusion of Chow-Yun Fat in to the mix as infamous pirate Sau Feng promises to add a kung-fu element to the franchise, ticking one more box in the process. Despite its faults, and the second instalment's embarrassing failure to match the first, an entertaining swashbuckler of a film is guaranteed, with more than a healthy dose of 'Arrghs!' and one liners. Set to be fun, if not instantly forgettable.

James Hay