What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this installment of the Pirates franchise is packed with more death, action, and violence than most superhero flicks -- from the grim opening sequence in which Caribbean civilians (including a young boy) are led to the gallows to the climactic swashbuckling showdown. Since it's nearly three hours long, younger kids (or those with short attention spans) may not go the distance. And with so many double crosses and betrayals, the plot may even be confusing for adults. That said, thanks to Disney's ubiquitous merchandising and advertising campaigns, even 5-year-olds know who Captain Jack Sparrow is, so chances are your youngest kids will want to see it. But if they do, be prepared for them to wake up with nightmares.

Families can talk about what made kids want to see this movie -- the story or all the product and toy tie-ins. Do kids want something because Captain Jack is connected to it? Why is Jack such an appealing character? And does the movie live up to all the hype? Families can also discuss the Pirates franchise as a whole. Do you think there should be a fourth movie or is this one a good finale? Which movie do you like best, and why?

Common Sense Media Review
There's no denying that the billion-dollar Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is wildly entertaining. But even though AT WORLD'S END -- the series' third and ostensibly final adventure -- is more action-packed than the first two sagas, it's still overlong and bewildering.

Captain Jack ( Johnny Depp) is back, living in the hallucinatory limbo of Davy Jones' Locker. While he's busy seeing imaginary clones of himself, Elizabeth Swann ( Keira Knightley), Will Turner ( Orlando Bloom), and resurrected Captain Barbossa ( Geoffrey Rush) travel to the Singapore. Their goal is to enlist pirate lord Sao Feng ( Chow Yun-Fat) to help save Jack and join his fellow captains against the British, who are in control of Davy Jones ( Bill Nighy) and his Flying Dutchman crew.

But that's just the beginning. The movie has so many story developments and double-crossing betrayals that the confusing plot merits an encyclopedic fansite. Even hardcore fans of whodunit mysteries will be puzzled by the number of twists and turns.

Basically, everyone's out for revenge. Will must free his father, Bootstrap Bill ( Stellan Skarsgard), from Davy's cursed ship; Elizabeth, having assuaged her guilt for cuffing Jack to the Black Pearl, now finds herself an avenging pirate captain. And Barbossa leads a council of the eight pirate lords who've gathered from around the globe "at world's end," while the mysterious Tia Dalma (a still horribly accented Naomie Harris) wants to unleash her alter ego as a trapped sea goddess in love with Davy. Got it? Didn't think so.

Never fear, matey: This is a Jerry Bruckheimer action flick, so everything turns up (mostly) roses. Some major characters die, disintegrate, or what have you, and others are revived. No one quite gets a perfectly happy ending, but at least Keith Richards shows up for a few minutes as Jack's hard-scrabble pirate pop. That tiny bit of perfect casting alone is worth the cost of the ticket.

Families who can't get enough piratology will also enjoy the film's predecessors -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -- as well as The Princess Bride and Errol Flynn's black-and-white classic Captain Blood.