Forever above the fray and beside the point, Depp's devilish buccaneer is the lightfooted device that holds the franchise together; as he sashays from battle to bar, impervious to insult and musket alike, Jack's very narcissism is his protection. He's an inverse superhero.
Though the film is filled with the expected special-effects wizardry, its most stunning and surreal moments are also the most peaceful: an army of crabs transporting the Black Pearl over dunes and into the ocean, and a flaming sunrise viewed through tattered seaweed sails.
A disappointing cameo by Keith Richards, still alive and flaunting the look of hard-won dissipation that reportedly inspired Jack's personal style, is in a special-effects category of its own. Perhaps he should have taken notes from Mick Jagger.
Because of the abundance of unpleasant human characters, all of whom lie, cheat and betray one another at the drop of a flounder, the burden of creating an emotional connection with the audience must be borne, ironically, by characters whose humanity has long since evaporated. From the pathos of Davy — still playing the organ like an invertebrate Phantom of the Opera — to the tragic yearning in the barnacle-encrusted face of Bootstrap Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgard), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End reminds us that great acting can transcend even the most elaborate makeup.
Even so, if the story is to continue, its creators will need more than Jack's limp wrists and Will's limp resolve. In the prophetic words of Barbossa, "There's never a guarantee of comin' back, but passin' on — that's certain."
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