Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Roaming the Caribbean, the crew of the legendary Black Pearl are desperately searching for the last remaining Aztec gold coin of the Cortez treasure. This is no ordinary coin, as it has the power to lift a curse that has stricken the crew for the past ten years turning them into the living dead when exposed to moonlight. Elizabeth Swan (Knightley) happens to have the last coin hanging on a chain around her neck and as the pirates blast their way into port to get it back, the town's blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom) and slightly mad pirate Jack Sparrow (Depp) launch an audacious bid to rescue her.

After many failed attempts to resurrect the swashbuckler, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl finally delivers a pirate movie that will make you go "Argh"

As Hollywood gets more desperate for ideas, the notion of a Disneyland theme park ride providing the inspiration for a major motion picture seemed a little far-fetched. But if you throw in a top-notch cast, an accomplished director, the writers of Shrek and the producer of some of the biggest action flicks of all time, you might be onto a winner. Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer have reinvigorated a dead genre and brought us a movie that is action packed, funny, romantic and scary.

The cast is first rate. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley confirm their up and coming star potential as the romantic leads. Bloom again handles the action well and Knightley looks stunning in the period costumes as a stronger than usual damsel in distress. Geoffrey Rush is suitably over-the-top as Captain Barbossa, bringing a panto-like element to his performance. There is also good support from Jack Davenport as by the book British officer Norrington and standout performances from Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook (From TVs The Office) as comedy pirates Pintel and Ragetti.

This is the Johnny Depp show however. His Captain Jack Sparrow is totally inspired and the reason alone to see this movie. Slightly mad and unbelievably cunning, this lovable rouge, inspired by Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards, is a tour-de-force by Depp. His one-liners are priceless, his mannerisms are hysterical and his look is spot on. This is truly a great character and one you will be quoting from for years to come.

The overall look of the movie is superb. The sets really capture the time, the costumes complement this and the boats are as majestic as they must have been in those days. The special effects are also first rate. The skeleton crew are fantastically realised, switching from flesh to bone in an instant when moonlight passes over them. While quite scary for the younger viewer, the tension is relived by the insertion of humour, especially from Pintel and Ragetti's wooden eye.

The movie is slightly too long but there is enough swash and buckle to keep you entertained for the entire duration. Add to this the totally unmissable Johnny Depp and you have a movie that should send all its big budget competitors to Davy Jones' locker. So set the main sail and shiver those timbers, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is well worth a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.

Commentary by Director Gore Verbinski and Star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Keira Knightly, Jack Davenport and screenwriters Stuart Beattie, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio and Jay Wolbert
An Epic at Sea
Fly on the set
Diaries
Below Deck
Blooper Reel
Deleted Scenes
Moonlight Serenade scene progression
Image Gallery
Pirates in the parks
Enhanced computer features
DTS Sound

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2003