A Surprising Gem

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2003)

When I was first planning to view this film I must admit my expectations where not that high. After all, the title did give a cheesy feel to the whole thing. However, I must say that within 10 minutes of the film I was completely spellbound by the film, characters, and plot. The fight scenes where well done and not over dramatized, the animation of the skeletons was smoothly done, and the acting was incredible.
The most surprising factor was how Johnny Depp played his character Jack Sparrow. Normally I am not a Depp fan per say, I enjoy his work but I don't exactly find myself fascinated by it. This role, however, gave me a whole different view of how truly talented Depp is as an actor. Depp took on a whole different role that even varied in the way his character Sparrow carried himself and mastered it like it was nothing.
Bloom was also a pleasant surprise. A few minutes into the film in you completely forgot about the elf and focused on the character in front of us. After seeing Bloom in this film I can honestly say that he is not a typecast and will well be on his way to the top. Rush was excellent as usual and portrayed his role as `a captain so evil Hell spat him out' with such humanity you actually felt a bit sorry for the cursed pirate.

All in all, this film is a rare gem to come from behind the Disney vaults. Along with the superb acting the writing, camera movement, plot, and timing was perfect. Not once did you feel the length of the movie setting in like `Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' or like watching `The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' a third time. Humor, drama, action, and adventure where perfectly balanced out to make this film the movie of the summer.