Written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, and Stuart Beattie
Directed by Gore Verbinski

When I first heard that Disney was going to make a movie based on the theme park ride Pirates of the Caribbean, my first reaction was that I didn’t expect much. It seemed like a way for the studio to make a quick buck off of a name the public generally had good feelings for.

Boy was I wrong. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has become a favorite to watch again and again in our home. My son used to love to imitate the pirates during the fight sequences and once was a pirate for Halloween, thanks to this movie.

Young Elizabeth Swann (portrayed by Lucinda Dryzek) is traveling with her father (portrayed by Jonathan Pryce) to Port Royal, where he is to serve as the Governor. She has an unnatural curiosity about pirates for a girl her age. As they make their way through the water, they find a boy floating on a makeshift raft in the water. Nearby, a ship is going down in flames. The boy is pulled on board unconscious and Elizabeth is left to care for him. She finds a necklace on him which would seem to indicate he’s a pirate, and hides it from the rest of the ship.

Many years later, both Elizabeth (now portrayed by Kiera Knightly) and Will Turner (portrayed by Orlando Bloom), the boy she helped rescue, have grown up. They are both still living in Port Royal. Will is working with a swordsmith and is completely smitten with Elizabeth.

Out on the ocean, Captain Jack Sparrow (portrayed by Johnny Depp) is struggling to make it into port in a leaky boat. He arrives on the day Commander Norrington (portrayed by Jack Davenport) has received a promotion. Elizabeth is standing on top of a castle wall when she faints from her tight corset and plunges into the water. Jack Sparrow dives in to save her, but the necklace she once took from Will has triggered something in the ocean…

It turns out, Jack is a pirate without a ship. His first mate, now Captain Barbossa (portrayed by Geoffrey Rush), mutinied and left Jack on an Island, making off with The Black Pearl. The only problem is that the crew got a bit too greedy for their own good and are now cursed. The only way to reverse the curse is to return all of the treasure they plundered to its rightful place. Except there’s a little problem with that as well. It seems there was a crewmember on the ship who didn’t entirely approve of the mutiny and who was cast to the bottom of the sea by the rest of the crew. They need his blood to complete the reverse of the curse, and his last name is Turner…

So Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has a variety of stories going on. You would think It would be way too convoluted and confusing, but that’s just not the case. The pace is excellent with the stories intertwining and going their own way quite naturally. This is primarily an adventure film, and there is an adventure all the way through with a few moments of character development pushing the plot forward to another great sequence. I didn’t think there were any moments where the film was weak or bogged down.

One cannot talk about Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl without talking about the incredible performance by Johnny Depp. I’ve watched him for years since he was first on television in 21 Jump Street, and this is a completely different character for him. Unlike other actors who seem to portray the same character over and over in different settings, Depp has shown himself to be extremely versatile. In this film, I found to my surprise that he has amazing comedic timing. The way he arrives in the port on board the boat is hysterical and sets the tone for his character. Captain Jack Sparrow is flamboyant and seems to be inebriated most of the time. However, watching carefully, he is quite intelligent and manages to manipulate people by using this facade to get them to underestimate him. It’s a multidimensional character that doesn’t always get recognized as such. Depp says he modeled the character on Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and as a long fan of the band, I do see the similarities. Scary, isn’t it?

Captain Jack Sparrow is what ties everything together. He’s not a good guy and not a bad guy, but somewhere in between, knitting the two sides together and at times working for each. Above all, he does seem to have a good heart although sometimes figuring that out takes some time. The times he appears to be good are usually when he is opposite Geoffrey Rush who is also fantastic in the role of Barbossa. He is truly evil and will resort to anything to achieve what he wants. The mutiny is a case in point. Rush has Barbossa being abrasive and conniving, finding ways to make bargains with people with loopholes that allow him to sidestep the spirit of the bargain. He was easy to root against.

Kiera Knightly holds her own against the strong men in the film as Elizabeth Swann. She is intelligent and far from a weak-kneed wilting violet. At a time when women were expected to be submissive to men, she rejected the social mores for her own code of behavior. She also doesn’t shy away from adventure or confrontation.

I didn’t know what to make of Orlando Bloom for a long time. At times he seems weak, but in reality, Will Turner is just someone who respects the social order of the time. He defers to what is considered proper more often than he should, which is why although Elizabeth has affection for him, the two seem destined to be separated had fate not interfered. He does rise to the occasion when warranted, and by the end of the film has transformed into his true nature. Bloom is also easy on the eyes, which doesn’t hurt.

The supporting cast is excellent. There are many throwaway lines that are spot-on. It takes several viewings to catch all of the subtle jokes and innuendo going on. The writing is excellent for the characters and they all seem to make the most of every opportunity they are given to shine.

The cinematography is excellent. With so many beautiful shots on the blue sea, it would seem to be a no-brainer, but even the darker shots are stunning and beautiful. I don’t think there was a poor shot in the entire movie.

The effects are incredible. The way the curse affects those on the Black Pearl is just pure delight to see. These visions might be scary for some children, however, which is why it received a PG-13 rating. There is also some violence when battles occur, with swords being used to kill. I didn’t think these images were too graphic. You know your child best and my seven-year-old son just loved the film with no nightmares ever. I don’t know if his reaction would have been the same a year or two ago.

The DVD comes with a slew of extras. The many deleted scenes were really interesting. Some I could tell why they were deleted as they weren’t really needed for the story and generally slowed the film down (it comes in at 2 hours and 23 minutes as it is). Others seemed like they might have fit quite nicely but were only cut for time. The bloopers were also funny – definitely check them out, as well as the commentaries if you care to sit through them. All of the headline actors as well as the Director, Producer, Writers, and others weigh in. There are also several featurettes and DVD-ROM features.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a terrific movie that combines some great humor as well as action quite well. The DVD is well worth having in your collection as it’s been produced quite well with plenty of extras to satisfy those of us who enjoy looking behind the scenes. There are few blockbusters that truly deserve the popularity they have achieved, but this is one of them.

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