It was about an hour into Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End when this reviewer, in complete frustration, decided to put away the notepad and just go along for the ride. Then, and only then, did said reviewer actually begin to enjoy the film. You know, sometimes you just gotta put aside all reason and intelligence and let a good ol’-fashioned popcorn movie be just that. If you are able to do so, then POTC: AWE is the type of summer flick that can put a smile on your face. Anyone looking for more than that is certain to be immensely disappointed.

At this point, a brief synopsis of the film would be fitting… yet, as I write this, I am still not sure exactly what it was about. Matter of fact, I’m not sure even the actors (who supposedly read the script) could tell you. The film opens in Singapore and from there catapults seemingly into every part of the globe with all the subtly and grace of a cannon blast. Along the way, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp mailing this one in), is rescued from the throes of Davy Jones’ Locker—which resembles a bad acid trip. Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) still has the hots for the personality-devoid Will Turner (Orlando Bloom)—one wonders why. Meanwhile, there are plots (I use that term loosely) and sub-plots involving “nine pieces of eight,” a navigational chart that is as vague and mysterious as the film’s storyline, and a climactic battle involving a myriad of sea-soaked hooligans. Throw in a return appearance by the always-brilliant Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa, an army of crabs and Chow-Yun Fat as Captain Sao-Feng and what you get is a whole lotta noise and racket with the flimsy framework of a shabby narrative.

The most compelling sub-plot involves the three main characters’ relationships to their fathers and this, unfortunately, is treated like everything else of substance in the film: with indifference, as brief interludes between CGI-inflated action sequences. Swann, Turner, and Sparrow all get closure on the fates of their dads. A much-hoopla-ed element of the film is a cameo by one of the notorious Glimmer Twins himself—Keith Richards as the elder Sparrow. Richards, in all of his haggard glory, steals the show in the (all-too-brief) time he is on the screen. But, just like the tepid “love” saga of Swann and Turner, this element of the story rings so hollow and emotionless that we are ultimately unmoved.

I suppose one should not be surprised that a cohesive narrative in POTC: AWE is given the heave-ho. Is that not the way of the pirate and a trademark of this trilogy thus far? On the uncharted seas, there is no law. It is by very nature antinomian. Heroes and villains are interchangeable and, most times, often one and the same. Flickers of goodness and charity usually piggyback selfish ambition and ulterior motives—even the redemption of a scoundrel like Barbossa is clouded by the possibility that it could all be for naught. So in this way, and this way only, POTC: AWE is thoroughly believable.

In the end, we are taken for a dizzying ride. Much like jumping on a rollercoaster, we should strap ourselves in, hold on tight and let POTC: AWE take us where it wants. But after we depart, we may be left to scratch our heads and realize that, though it was fun while it lasted, it doesn’t really matter much.