"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" *** (out of four): The third in the "Pirates" series achieves the unimaginable: a perfect balance of incomprehensible plot and spectacular action, all buoyed by Johnny Depp's inimitable Captain Jack Sparrow. For this series, the third time's the charm.

When evaluating an entry in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, the question is not if it's a good movie. I don't think anyone is expecting a masterpiece out of a film based on a theme park ride - let alone the third in the series. The question is: does it deliver what we’ve come to expect from these movies? In the case of the “Pirates” franchise that would be: protracted action scenes, absurdly confusing plots, over-long running times and Johnny Depp. As expected, since this is the second sequel, everything is amped up that much farther. But what the “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End” is able to do, which I never thought possible, is achieve a perfect balance between incomprehensible story and over-the-top action. Yes, I’ll say it: “At World’s End” is the best in the series.

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