Best Use of Special Effects I've Seen in a Long Time

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2007)

I expected this to be just OK based on the comments I read here yesterday and the mediumness of Shrek and Spiderman. I thought it might be some kind of deal with IIIs. I was, however, surprised.
The special effects were not only amazing, but smart. There was not a single moment when my suspension of disbelief was shattered because the CGI came off as waxy like in Spiderman III. The eye candy just melts perfectly into the story.
The story part of the film felt smooth. Shrek III seemed clunky to me compared to the first two. Not so with this. A review I read yesterday on CNN or something said Pirates is all over the place, and it is. But it's a big ocean and these characters get around. I wasn't let down by where the story took me and in spite of my five-year-old curled up and snoring quietly in the seat next to me, it didn't feel long. I wanted wanted it to last.
As things unfolded, I couldn't predict what we were going to see next and I had no desire to try. I didn't leave the theater thinking, "Holy CRAP! That was incredible" like I did after I saw The Departed. I wasn't expecting to. But I did exit the theater 1) Thinking a lot of the reviewers on this site have it wrong. 2) Hoping the studio just leaves it alone now *right!* or at least Depp says no.
Keira Knightley is so nice to look at in this. This is one for the big screen.