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Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the
Black Pearl
Starring:
Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa), Orlando
Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightly (Elizabeth Swann)
Written by: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, from a story
by Elliott & Rossio, Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert
Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Review
by Matt McConnel
It's a
summer movie, it really has no depth, no actual meat to sink
your teeth into, and in fact is really nothing but swords,
buckled swashes, pirates, and witty banter. Isn't it GREAT?!
First
of all, before we even approach the plot, Johnny Depp makes
this movie work. Without Depp, Pirates would have been a mediocre
pirate movie at best with Bloom, Knightly, and Rush doing
their best with an alright script and pretty sets. With Depp,
the rest of the crew plays support to the raucously bizarre
and delightfully deranged Jack Sparrow. Um, 'captain' if you
please… Kudos for one of the most creative and amusing entrances
of any principle character I have seen in a long time.
Elisabeth
Swan meets Will Turner at sea. In fact, she is the one who
spots his sodden self floating away from a newly afire vessel.
Cut a few years; the two are grown, and obviously harboring
feelings for one another, but social standing prevents anything.
Swan encounters Sparrow after the new corset he father kindly
bought her causes her to fain and plunge into the sea. Sparrow
rescues her, and is rewarded by being clapped in irons. Night
falls and suddenly Port Royal is under attack by the infamous
Black Pearl under the command of the villainous Captain Barbossa.
Swan is captured and taken to Barbossa because she holds the
last coin in the collection that has cursed the motley crew
for over ten years. Mind you, she took the coin from Will
they day they met, so she's no really the one they want, it's
Will. But Will resolves to go after her, and engages, or rather
disengages, Sparrow to help him. Turner and Sparrow steal
the fastest ship in port, The Interceptor, and are perused
by Commodore Norrington and Elisabeth's father the island's
governor. The chase is on.
There
are a couple of plot twists, but they really only support
the overall chase theme of the movie. Everything about the
film is designed to be pretty and thrust the characters forward.
Even Jonathan Pryce, who usually plays such devious and creepy
fellows, gets in a few chuckles with his bumbling yet good
natured Governor Swan. In the final account, there really
is little here for the 'ahtists' to get out of the film. It
is however, a grand flick, and well worth the fun of repeated
viewing.
Matt normally dishes on anime, but a man can't live on hentai
alone. You can email him here.
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