I know it's way late, but now that I finally got the chance to go see it, here is the review. There are two things you ought to know about this movie. One : It's simply awesome. Two. It's a butt and mind numbing 3 hour movie.

I loved the Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and with such a cliffhanger, I just had to go see this movie.

Firstly about the awesome part. The special effects and set-pieces are bigger and better. From the shoot-out in Singapore to the first appearance of the Flying Dutchman to the trip to the World's End (yes, it is massive waterfall) to the Shipwreck Bay to the cannon duel at the maelstrom they are all awesome. One thing Hollywood has learned to do and learned to do well are the action scenes - they are both tense and comical.

In case you are wondering, Jack did die in Dead Man's Chest. The first half of the movie is all about getting Jack back - and bring him back they do. But Jack wants to get back at Davy Jones, Captain Barbossa wants his ship back, Will wants to keep his promise and save his dad from the clutches of Davy Jones, Elizabeth wants... well seems everyone wants something in this movie. This brings me to the second thing you should know about this movie.

Secondly it is an unnecessarily padded movie with more subplots than tentacles of the Kraken. I won't even bother to go into them here. Why do we need Captain Sao Feng and his merry band of Singaporean pirates? The lovestory of Calypso and Davy Jones? Admiral Norrington's need for redemption?... phew. These subplots add a whole bunch of unnecessary exposition. Did they have the Singapore scene to show how Will will betray Jack (gasp!) couldn't they have done it in a more streamlined fashion? Oh, don't worry there are lots of betrayals - by Jack, by Elizabeth, by Will (again) and by Barbossa - so I wasn't giving away any critical plot points.

I did say earlier that the set-pieces were awesome, but after sitting through the weired encounter with Sao Feng which lead to the explosive (literally) I was beginning to wonder if the action sequences will do much to move the plot forward or are they just there for the sake of being there. Even the awesome maelstrom sequence dragged on for too long! I love my action sequences, but this is ridiculous.

Depp's Jack Sparrow is still colorful and funny, especially when he is playing against Barbossa. And Barbossa is a great and believable character, Rush really played him well. Will Turner, after getting some emotional dept in the second movie turned bland for most of the movie. I am not sure if it is because of Bloom or the script. Knightley's Elizabeth is pretty as ever, if somewhat gaunt looking - other than kicking some pirate butt and giving an awful speech that was meant to be inspiring, doesn't get to do much meaningful.

So with everyone double-crossing everyone else, we reach the climatic scene at the Maelstrom. There is a somewhat surprise ending - I have to say that I didn't see it coming. Oh, and do sit through the long end credits if you want to see something a little extra at the end. And yes, Keith Richards does show up - for all of two minutes.

I walked out of the theater asking myself the question that one of the characters asked. "Do you think he plans it all out or makes it up as he goes along." Did Gore Verbinski actually plan it this way?

Despite my criticism of the movie, I would say, go see the movie. It does bring 'a' story arc to an end, so if you need closure and all that go see it. Or if you just like big action sequences, then this movie has plenty. It was just a bit too much for me.