An entertaining jumbalaya of a pirate movie

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2003)

Two reasons to see Curse of the Black Pearl (and I'm speaking more to adults, kids will see just about anything they can get into admission-wise) are the effects done on the crew of the Black Pearl, and two performances amongst those that were OK but nothing special- Geoffrey Rush as the taut, creepy captain of the Black Pearl, and especially Johnny Depp as the somewhat unconventional captain Jack Sparrow. On this site it's said that Depp patterned his character's moves and voice after Keith Richards, which I can see, however my first impression watching him was that he was basically playing Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in a pirates cap and with gold fronts. This is indeed an original turn for Depp, even if we've seen him do something like this before, and it helps when a persona is this fresh in a story that counts the numbers a bit too often.
Curse tells of a governor's daughter, Elizabeth, who is on the verge of being married to an uptight British officer, despite to pining of blacksmith Will Turner (LOTR's Orlando Bloom). When she is kidnapped by a looting band of pirates one night, he enlists the help of imprisoned Jack Sparrow to find her and the Black Pearl. But when the curse is revealed to Elizabeth that's when things get suspenseful (to a degree).
One thing that makes this a worthwhile time for the kids is that it's the first PG-13 film from the Disney people, and though it might have fared a higher calling if it was under a different studio with an R rating, it can give them a chance to see some scenes parents may find a little risqué. For instance, at one point Jack and Elizabeth are stranded on an island (which is all I'll say as to not spoil it), and he finds a stash of rum in a hiding place, and then the two get hammered under the moonlight. Another instance is when the curse is first revealed, once again under the moonlight, and this can be a perfect introduction to the magic of zombies.
The action scenes, however, are the weakest scenes of the film, which is a let-down since there's some good choreography in the swordplay, but there's just something about the way they go on that doesn't catch the viewer in (at least me) like how other action scenes this summer have. By the end of 'Curse', the audience can see it's nowhere near greatness, but as popcorn fodder it is a pick of the moment. B-