The gem of the franchise

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2009)

I can't believe they based the film on the Pirate ride at Disney (I have to confess, it is my favourite ride at the Magic Kingdom). I thought it was genius they could do a 143 minute film and have a plot that wasn't light and had plenty of weight to it.
Out of the three movies, this is my favourite.
It was the first film in a while to tackle pirates and cover all the key elements of pirate movies in the past- lovely locations, a love story that had the right amount of attention but wasn't the main focus of the plot, great action sequences. Then this film updated it in such a way that modern audiences wouldn't be put off watching this type of film which probably happened in the past as they just didn't know how to make a successful pirate film to appeal to their audience at the time. I thought it was an interesting idea to have the pirates cursed and that they couldn't be killed.
The cast was brilliant, I loved the romance between Elizabeth and Will but who I enjoyed watching the most was obviously Johnny Depp. He had a really fantastic idea about making Jack Sparrow very rock n' roll and basing him on Keith Richards. He played him just right and probably made him the first anti-hero in a while that the audience was interested in watching and rooting for.
The film really does have it all- stunning locations, really breathtaking. A very unique plot with many twists and turns. Unforgettible characters, incredible and scary special effects and exciting sword fights.