Written by Hollowman - February 18th, 2005
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Keira Knightley
Director: Gore Verbinski
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer Rated: PG-13
Rating: * * * 1/2 (3 and a half)
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To be honest, I had never really intended to see “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”. Any film that’s based off of a ride from a popular amusement park has to be some unusual, idiotic way for a studio to make some money (especially when it’s produced by Jerry Bruckheimer). However, as I sat in the theatre with my date, I began to notice that as the minutes passed by, “Pirates…” became more and more interesting and above all, entertaining.
As we know now, the film was 2003’s biggest unexpected hit and for good reasons. When the buzz first came out about a movie about the famed Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disney Land, most people were very skeptical. Even more unconvincing was the fact that this was a pirate movie. There really haven’t been too many pirate films in a while, let alone any good ones (do any of us remember “Cut Throat Island”?). When released, the film put everyone’s doubts to rest.
One of the main reasons that the film is so interesting is that it basically has nothing to do with the ride. Directed by Gore Verbinski, “Pirates…” is about a cursed crew of pirates who sail on the mythical Black Pearl. They move from port to port, searching for the last piece of gold that they stole in order to end their curse of basically being undead. They come to a British colony in the Caribbean and kidnap Elizabeth (Kiera Knightley). Will (Orlando Bloom), her unspoken love is soon off to her rescue, but not before recruiting the help of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johny Depp).
The story is entertaining as well as the action it’s filled with. There’s a terrific battle of two ships, a very rhythmic swashbuckling scene with Bloom and Depp, another one between Jack Sparrow and the captain of the Black Pearl Captain Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush (which is pointless in the sense that since Barbossa is undead, what’s the point of Sparrow trying to kill him, but with such entertainment, who cares?).
It’s not, however, the story that’s the film’s strongest part. It’s the performances by Depp and Rush that really make the movie worth seeing. Though Rush delivers one of his most charismatic and interesting roles ever, he’s outshined by Depp’s role of Sparrow. In it, we see a very flamboyantly dressed, drunken moving, and quick tongued characters in recent years (evidently, he mirrored Sparrow off of famed drug addict Keith Richards). The rest of the supporting cast offer lots of laughs with their typical shiver me timber and yar me matey pirate characters.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” was much more than I and others expected it to be. It could have been a typical “off the assembly line” film, trying to make a quick buck, but instead it has a brain and heart. The only problem is that the last ten minutes of it seem long and almost unnecessary. But, you’ll forget about it and remember a surprisingly good movie.
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