surprisingly good

Rating: 8/10 (29 October 2003)

I wasn't expecting much when I walked into the theatre to see this movie. I mean - it's a movie based on a ride for goodness sakes. But they actually manage to pull off making something that is a lot of fun to watch and manages to be a spoof of other swashbuckling movies as well. Johnny Depp is particularly good in his lunatic role of Jack Sparrow. He definitely makes the movie with his nonchalant air of cool confidence while at the same time - messing up a good percentage of the time. His make-up was a little overdone - but his character itself is so odd, that I found I forgot all about his makeup about five minutes into the movie.
The sword fight between Sparrow and the young blacksmith is all one could hope for in an all-out acrobatic and elaborate duel.
It's not a masterpiece by any means and the movie suffers from some predictability. The second half of the movie isn't nearly as tight as the first half before Sparrow and the blacksmith steal the boat in pursuit of the Black Pearl. Overall though, it's much better than the average modern flick out there involving swords and ships - especially considering the original premise.