PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003) / *** 1/2
Directed by Gore Verbinski. Screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, from a story by Elliott, Rossio, Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert. Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley. Running time: 143 minutes. Rated PG for frightening scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on July 17th, 2003.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: A British settlement in the Caribbean is attacked by pirates from the legendary Black Pearl, led by the fearsome Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). They make off with Elizabeth Swann (Knightley), who owns a strange medallion which the pirates believe is the key to unlocking an ancient curse which has transformed them into undead. Young blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom) vows to rescue Elizabeth and forges an unlikely alliance with the outlandish Jack Sparrow (Depp), once the captain of the Black Pearl himself.
Review: Although the pirate genre has long since fallen out of favour, "Pirates Of The Caribbean" seems destined to turn those fortunes around. This is perhaps a bit surprising, because in many ways it hews closely to the time-honoured buccaneer formula. As the straight-arrow good guy, Bloom is pitch-perfect, evoking the spirit of Errol Flynn. Knightley deviates from tradition a little more substantially with her modern, feisty performance, but in the end is still very much the archetypal "Governor's daughter". And the undead status of the eponymous buccaneers is really just an excuse for spooky special effects -- these are still classic evil pirates, led with great gusto by Rush. Where the movie shifts gears is in the introduction of Depp's character, and it's a brilliant move: Jack Sparrow is a singularly unique creation. Part "Rocky Horror" refugee, part antediluvian Han Solo, he swaggers through the film like a benevolent drunkard. He's funny and heroic (well, antiheroic at least) but best of all he's unpredictable, making "Pirates" less of a cookie cutter runaround than most blockbusters. Granted, the script does indulge in capture-escape-capture theatrics a little too much, and consequently it feels a bit padded out. But for the most part, "Pirates Of The Caribbean" may well be the most fun you'll have at a movie theatre this summer.
Copyright © 2003 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
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