One of the best pirate movies I've seen, but...

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2003)

On the surface, it's innocent enough. (Capt.) Jack Sparrow is a likeable, although a bit fruity, pirate. Orlando Bloom makes a wonderful breakaway from the LOTR saga, and Keira Knightly swoons with the best. The problem? It's just a wee bit long in the tooth. Eye candy like the ghastly special effects and great scenery notwithstanding, the entire last half hour could have been 10 minutes or so.
Other than that, I would highly recommend seeing this movie. The history is dealt out in small parcels along the length of the movie, allowing you to digest each bit without giving too much away. There is enough doing without explaining to make the movie a bit more intelligent than then industry standard would normally allow, and the sword fighting is reminiscent of black and white film. (A good thing)
Just remember: Commodore isn't a royal navy rank. It's a temporary title given to a Captain in charge of other captains when an Admiral isn't nearby. They should have made the officer in question an Admiral. It's a small change, but it made me distrust the movie in the first 10 minutes. They won me back, but it's still dead wrong.