Refreshing adventure

Rating: 6/10 (14 August 2006)

Recently I have been lamenting the lack of quality adventure films in the vein of Back to the Future and Indiana Jones; I feel the Pirates series satiates my cravings. Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer, is known for over-the-top movies that defy belief so much it's distracting to the story, but perhaps director Gore Verbinski has toned him down a bit. Pirates is still over-the-top excitement, but it really doesn't distract from the storytelling the team of writers maintain.
This installment of the Pirates trilogy pits the Keith Richards inspired Captain Jack Sparrow, portrayed skillfully by Johnny Depp, against the under-worldly Captain Davy Jones. I'm not sure what went on in developing the final two chapters, but Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, played by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, end up in the adventure somewhat as an aside - Dead Man's Chest is really Jack Sparrow's movie. I could go into the story, but it seems pointless, the story is linear and the characters seem to develop almost forcefully. There are detours in the film that seem to only exist for spectacular adventure and could easily have been cut from the movie, especially when it ends at over 2 and a half hours in length. The cannibal island act didn't do anything for the story except to bring together four characters from the previous film. It seems like they couldn't figure out how to get these people in the story any other way. Honestly, the characters all come from different places and all end up on the same island together just to be chased about by cannibal tribes-people (some of which looked like Irishmen). Some of the characters were introduced in this film seemingly for no reason, but our main characters seem to be quiet fond of them.
Besides some weak elements, as mentioned, everything was amazing. The story drew you into it with compelling drama, suspense and adventure. The action was exciting and big (true to Bruckheimer's pedigree). The vistas were amazing; filmed on location in the Bahamas. The most impressive part of it all was the innovative, cutting-edge CGI effects. It is amazing to see how far computer generated images have come over the years.