Hoisting the Jolly Roger.

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2003)

Most genres suffer the effects of booms and depressions associated with audience fickleness and the current trend. Only the Action, Thriller and Drama genres retain any sense of stability. Therefore the large  scale investment in a movie which does not have the benefit of a boom period is a risky one. Pirates Of The Caribbean' is an attempt at regenerating the pirate movie with a movie so bold that it even has a sub  title thus indicating the intent of future development of the concept. The pay  off could be big or it could be a major loss. The achieved success is a consequence of the producers doing their homework. If it was a gamble, it was a confident one.
The elements of its success are numerous, but the one's that got the attention were the story, the acting, the characters and the visual feast. No single element took centre stage and an excellent balance was struck which ensured that audience attention was not diverted by any one element being stronger or weaker at any point in the movie. Bruckenheimer's production style is well suited to a movie such as this and his experience in the production of several Hollywood blockbusters must have significantly decreased the risk factor.
The story was a rich one that flowed gracefully introducing new characters at opportune times and providing sufficient obstacles for our heroes to overcome. This was crucial considering the movies length, although this time length is becoming more acceptable to audiences of today who are adapting as blockbusters are now being produced with involved stories which create greater character development. This is good for moviemakers who may sometimes find it difficult to condense stories to the allotted time limit.
Suspension of disbelief was a subconscious one since the audience knew that it was watching a story which had the fantasy of a children's book. This is a natural component of stories about pirates since they conjure up an image of outlaws living outside the natural realm. Past stories captured our imagination as we were told of these barbaric beings that slipped out from under the shadows and plundered returning to their dark realm only to return to strike another hapless target. The great expanse of the ocean abound with uncharted territories and riches to plunder accentuated this quasi  romantic image.
The acting on show perfectly set aside each character as an individual who added to the story in their own way. Johnny Depp gave a style to his character that would have been amusing for the younger audience including enough expected character of a pirate so as to keep it in line with the story. As defined by him, pirates would have been something akin to rock stars in their time. This interpretation would have made it easy to be contrived which would have ruined the opportunity created for an original character. This was definitely not the case as the lines were sufficiently sublime and the acting was restrained enough so as to avoid a transparent performance. Let's not forget the assistance provided by the make  up department in the form of eyeshadow. Which self  respecting aspirant rock star would not have black eyeshadow? Our conventional image of a pirate was not portrayed here and this task was left to the character of Jeffrey Rush.
This characters entrance was tantalisingly held back as the audience were given entertaining clues as to the character of Barbossa. Lines like he was spat out by hell' served to create an image of extreme depravity and insatiable greed. When we see him for the first time, this image is smoothly slipped into with restraint similar to that of Depp's. He is the archetypal pirate with which the audience will readily identify. We even have the characteristic Aaaaarrr'. As with the character of Depp, there is also originality although more in line with the producers' conception of the character rather than the acting adaptation of Rush. The parrot is traded in for a monkey. This is in tandem with his hyped up image of evil since the monkey looks more mischievous than a parrot. A pirate who is supposed to be the most evil of all must have the most mischievous companion of all.
Who also gave a good performance and was consistent throughout. She did not fall into the trap of being too fragile and thus becoming a Scream Queen. Instead she developed into a heroine as she took the battle to The Black Pearl'. The originality evident in the characters of Depp and Rush was not adapted here which did not bring too much disappointment since she retained enough presence in their company. Although she looked like a clone from Titanic', she gave enough adventurous spirit and was therefore not as fragile as a rose'. Excuse the pun, it was hard to resist. The producers were right in casting someone who had a tried and tested look with the audience, but in doing so did not build on the originality as delivered by the leading men.
The pirate movies that I have seen in the past all seem to visually fantastic. This one does much to continue this necessary trend. The world of the pirate is something otherworldly belonging only to our imaginations until some moviemakers give us their graphic depiction of this. The sets are at times spectacular in bringing this world to life. This movie does much to satisfy one of the requirements of the big screen which is to take our senses to another level. After all, the big screen is not ordinary  it is grand. Why use a Mako as a prowler of the deep when you can use a Hammerhead.
Pirates Of The Caribbean' is an enjoyable movie, but it is not particularly memorable. This was probably not the ultimate aim of the producers. Audiences are looking for quick fix panaceas to their daily stress and in depth storylines do not provide this. The movie was aimed at profit  taking in the short  term. This means that the movie would have to be devoid of messages, but high on family amusement. This allows the producers to target the mass audience and thus make the movie more bankable. It is important to note that the story itself is not weak, it fact as previously mentioned it is a rich offering many avenues for entertainment. It does, however, fall short of the ideal for the stage that it graces. The grand stage requires a story of greater magnitude, which will entertain as well as teach for generations to come. Notwithstanding this fact, there are at present certain economic realities that the producers are paying attention to. Hopefully the future holds greater prospect for stories down the generations.