Shiver Me Timbers! (Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl (DVD))

Member Name: utero

Product:	Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl (DVD)
Date:	21/09/03 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Johnny Depp, Entertaining, Amusing

Disadvantages: A bit long

Shiver me timbers matey as Hollywood once more braves the seven seas for a big budget pirate adventure. The last time such an attempt on the genre was made we had Cutthroat Island, a movie that cost $92 million, made only $11 million on release and subsequently bankrupted the studio that backed it.

But now we have Pirates of the Caribbean, a movie based on a theme park ride and backed by the bravado of Jerry Bruckheimer. None of the stars were known as bankable actors although they were respected so perhaps the film was a gamble. However over $250 million later it seems that gamble has paid off.

The plot of the film sees a bunch of pirates in a quest to find the last piece of Aztec gold. Led by Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) they sail the seas in the ship known as the Black Pearl. The gold they seek will lift a curse on the pirates that has led them to walk the earth neither living or dead. In daylight they appear normal but once moonlight hits they are revealed as walking skeletons. The last piece of gold hangs around the neck of a young beauty Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and she is subsequently kidnapped. A young admirer Will (Orlando Bloom) sets out to rescue her but he'll need help. However he's just a mere blacksmith and the only person who seems up for the task is the former captain of the Black Pearl Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). The only problem is Sparrow is one of the worst pirates ever seen.

The reason this movie has been a success is because it has come along with little hype and ended up being an incredibly entertaining summer movie filled with big action and great performances. It may have has some decent promotion but sheer word of mouth has carried this on to the second biggest movie of the summer. A lot of it is down the performance of Johnny Depp. In the likes of Fear and Loathing Depp has shown his diversity and perhaps love of things offbeat. This movie gives him the chance to really perform in a movie with a bi
gger budget. Jack Sparrow saunters into the movie by landing on dock just as his ship sinks into the ground, then with a rock star swagger he displays his inept ability to be a pirate. Then he opens his mouth and it becomes clear Depp has decided to play Sparrow as if he were a cross between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It's great fun all the way through and Depp elevates the film into a great territory.

The other performances are just as good with Orlando Bloom breaking out of the Lord of the Rings movies and into leading man material. Keira Knightley looks good but is far from the pretty maiden with nothing to say. She has some good scenes alongside the perfect villain in Geoffrey Rush. Although a serious actor most of the time Rush seems to love these kind of roles as well, he hammed it up in The House on Haunted Hill and now he's enjoying himself here as well. There are also a lot of recognisable British cast members such as Jonathan Pryce and Gareth from The Office as a one eyed pirate who has an amusing altercation with a fork.

Director Gore Verbinski has gone from the creepy theatrics of The Ring to this big slice of entertainment with great ease. He handles the action with an assured hand from the small intimate sword fights to the big set pieces. Everything looks big on scale and the budge is certainly up there on screen. He also has the help of some great CGI effects. The showing of the pirates in moonlight could have been horrible but overall they look great. There are moments when a fight dips in and out of moonlight and the effects are flawless as human being reverts to skeleton and back again with the greatest of ease.

My only faults with the film is that is a little long and could have done with a bit more trimming to bring it in under two hours. But having said that the performances mean that there is really an incredibly dull moment a'la Matrix Reloaded. Also the musical score while decent enough doesn't
have any real striking themes. This could be down the fact there was more than one composer according to the credits on IMDB.

But these are minor quibble as Pirates of the Caribbean is a movie that I'd happily sit through again, if you haven't seen it then make sure you see on the big screen as it ones of those movies.

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