It's just what it wants to be...

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2003)

...pure entertainment.
It has to be said: The plot is thin, so thin. Sailing to an island, returning from there, sailing back... The last line which completed the romantic part was just hilarious and felt like some pulp pirate story a la "The Maid and the Pirate". I saw it coming from miles, and I kept repeating "DON'T SAY IT! PLEASE DON'T SAY IT!"
She said it.
The action wasn't over the top at all (comparing T3, for example), and there was clearly more space for better effects. There isn't a single scary moment, even the introduction of the curse (when the pirates showed their true faces) looked more like a musical to me. Nobody in the audience ever jumped. 50 zombies, and not one single scary moment. Hmm.
What a great movie!
Honestly, forget all the contra points. Johnny Depp carries the movie from one laugh to the next, his acting is just one big feel-good-smile. Every time he disappears from screen, I just wanted him to return. Without him, it's a below-standard one. With him... Oh my god.(And I'm not even female! :) I loved him in Sleepy Hollow, but this one tops it easily (the acting, not the movie - SH is way better in plot/thrilling/etc.)
It's not pulp fiction, and surely not fight club, but I can promise you 120 (okay 100, taking away 20 minutes without Depp) minutes of pure entertaining. Just expect a comedy, and it delivers.