Rating: 9/10
Review date: August 31, 2003
A group of “cursed” pirates kidnap Elizabeth Swann, a British governor’s daughter, craving after the necklace that she is wearing. They intend to use it in a ceremony which is supposed to negate the curse and return the pirates to their normal state. Captain Jack Sparrow (a rogue pirate) and Will Turner (a blacksmith) must team up together to save the damsel from distress while foiling the evil pirates’ plan. They also have to cope with the British Navy who is also trying to save Elizabeth themselves. Plenty of action, humor and swashbuckling develops into one of the best movies this summer.
This movie totally impressed me from the beginning to the end with its great acting, memorable characters, interesting storyline, cool music and excellent special effects.
Regardless of whatever impression you have after you saw the trailer (be it good or bad), this movie managed to successfully encompass different characteristics of movie genres to perfection.
Since director Gore Verbinski also directed the American remake of “The Ring” you will notice a similar style during some of the supposedly scary/creepy scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. Kudos to him for attempting and being able to combine various movie genres together into a captivating result where some other directors had failed before (anyone remember Dreamcatcher?).
The acting is also top-notch with witty humor and great dialogue given to the actors and actresses. The characters are unique and very memorable with nice costumes to go along with.
Captain Barbossa (leader of the cursed pirates) is played by Geoffrey Rush and he is very suitable for his role; as a villain he is not very charming or whatever but he certainly gets the job done with the right acting and accent as a pirate.
The pretty Keira Knightley is also perfect as the governor’s daughter and she delivers her line funnily. Let’s hope that this movie would launch her career; I’m looking forward to see her in future movies.
Unfortunately, I find Will Turner (played by Orlando Bloom) not memorable. He doesn’t have that much humor and his lines are just alright, nothing interesting to mention here.
The coolest character is Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) with the matching costume, make-up, dialogue etc. Everything about him is just perfect. His hair is tied up in a very nice way complete with the accessories. Depp really brings Captain Jack Sparrow into a very lively and humorous yet somehow remaining as a nonchalant character at times.
The action is numerous which involves ship-to-ship battle with plenty of cannonballs flying all around the place. The swordfights has nothing new to offer but still exciting nevertheless. It is no wonder the action scenes are done very well since Jerry Bruckheimer produced this movie; we all know his movies are always laden with big explosions and great action (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Bad Boys II).
The special effects are excellent with the transition of the pirates into skeletons being done in a very convincing manner. The scenery is also very nice with tropical islands, plenty of coconut tress, complete with pirate ships and treasure chests as well as a monkey and a parrot. It really reminds of my childhood which is partly spent playing with Lego pirate ships and the likes.
Contrary to what you would normally expect from such movie, the plot is not boring. In fact it is peppered with enough twists to keep you fully engaged until then end, especially considering the 143 minutes runtime (although it could have been shorter). The musical score is excellent and it really complements the other factors which make this such a great movie.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl will undoubtedly remain as one of my favorite movies. I believe very few people would disagree with my statement. It kept me glued to my seat throughout and I am really satisfied with the performance of the casts. The story has a lot of twists, plenty of action and lots of hilarious moments in between to entertain while the music is also used to perfection. This is undoubtedly one of the best movies this year and I am looking forward to the sequel which hopefully will stand up to its predecessor. One more thing, make sure you stay seated until the end of the credits to see one short extra scene.
*Trivia*
This movie is based on a Disneyland park ride of the same name.
Captain Jack Sparrow’s gold teeth are real. Johnny Depp had them implanted by his dentist for this movie.
Memorable quote: “Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner.”
-Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa-
(C) Martin Taidy 2003