Charming but fell short of great

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2003)

This movie is reminiscent of virtually every Hollywood blockbuster I've ever seen. It did its job: charmed the charmable, roused those appreciative of trite, forced humor, wooed those susceptible to petty, undramatic romance, and overall, won people over by general appeal and advertisement rather than by substance. Granted, a lot of people like that sort of thing. And frankly I should have expected it. But I went in expecting something a bit more riveting, involved, and overall, something that perhaps would take itself seriously.
I was looking for more of a period action film with its own aspects of fantasy that remain consistent and serious (Lord of the Rings trilogy comes to mind, though that's not technically a period action film, it falls into the category right up there with Braveheart, Last of the Mohicans, Gladiator, etc. and still has its fair share of humor). I was interested to see how this would be done. The trite humor and cleches in the beginning, I thought to be something that would pass. Then I realized that they were to remain and then I of course saw the wonderfully comic CG skeleton pirates! And said to myself, "oh, it's one of these."
So I'd just like to let everyone else know, this is a Hollywood blockbuster and nothing more. Don't expect it to stick with you for long or to make you think about anything. Also, the plot twists just got annoying after a while. However, some good points: Geoffrey Rush and especially Johnny Depp in some roles that they obviously enjoy, and can overact wonderfully with reckless abandon! Great job by the two of them, very entertaining. Especially when Barbosa grunts, simply, "ARRRR!" The action is superb, with some brilliantly choreographed sword fights and wonderful effects throughout. Plenty of eye candy and humor for the whole family.
I'd hardly call it great cinema, but it was certainly fun. Go into the theater in the mood for a fun movie and you'll probably enjoy it much more than I did.