I thought this movie would be terrible but...

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2003)

Okay, when I first saw the poster and saw the names of Gore "I turned Ringu in to a movie with lots of loud noises because Americans can not be scared by anything remotely psychological" Verbinski and Jerry "Kangaroo Jack and lots of movies with big explosions" Bruckheimer on the credits, I was sceptical (a variant spelling of skeptical, not related to a septic tank) but as it turns out the movie is pretty good. It is a fun summer popcorn movie and despite some large plot holes, turns out to be one of the better films of the summer (well of the "popcorn" movies).
Orlando Bloom is Legolas without pointy ears and with a sword instead of a bow (but the girls dig him so I will not go in to copious detail about his mediocre acting, he fills the part). Keira Knightley is just hot (she would be drop dead gorgeous even without the accent but is on the top of my list with Fleur Saville and Antonia Prebble because of it) and legal (but just barely). Geoffrey Rush is lost in the character, one of the signs of a really good actor, though I have to say that he did not really add anything special that no other actor could have, a shame for such a talented guy. The rest of the cast are also excellent and the dialogue is good and tolerable even at the worst of times.
The special effects in the film are excellent, I only wish that all films loaded with special effects would be this good. Special Effects are there to ENHANCE the plot and the acting, not to take the place of it.
I am going to finish this review by raving about Johnny Depp because he really was the reason the film was so good. I literally do not think the film would have been half as good with anyone else in the role (well maybe Daniel Day-Lewis). He creates a unique and engaging character and endears himself to you, a hard task for the disowned gay son of Captain Morgan. Johnny Depp has proven once again why he is among the elite inner circle of great actors (well mine anyway, along with Ed Norton, Kenneth Branagh, Don Cheadle, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Forrest Whitaker, Brian Cox, Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and probably a few I am forgetting unfortunately, my apologies to them).
It works best on the big screen, so go to the second run theatre and see it for two bucks for Johnny Depp if nothing else.