The Epic of all Pirate films...brilliant, a classic for certain

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2006)

Pirates of the Caribbean I think came as a surprise to a lot of people. Had Hollywood gone too far...basing a film on an amusement park ride??!! Slapping a 150 million dollar budget on it and putting huge stars in the mix?? Well it wasn't a mistake and Disney knocked one out of the park with this incredible swashbuckling adventure that completely invigorates the "Pirate" film, not that I can think of any others at the moment. Pirates is possibly one of the greatest adventure films I've ever sat through. Completely unashamed of it's 2 1/2 hour time frame and although still to this die hyped as a kids movie it's pretty brutally violent at times with freaky undead pirates and plenty of sword play and guns blazing. Director Gore Verbinski creates this entire Caribbean world with all this legend and lore and it just draws you into it's people and places and the adventure ahead of them. It is non stop adventure!!
On top of all this is a guaranteed cinema classic character...the one, the only Oscar Nominated performance of Captain Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp. How can you sum up Captain Jack Sparrow, he's an anti-hero...not quite a good guy, tries very hard to be a bad guy but also has a very high moral standard according to the Pirate Code. One of the great lines in the film is when they think Jack is screwing up an attempt at stealing a ship and a naval office comments "That has to be the worst pirate I've ever seen.." and then tides change and they realize Jack has duped them and taken off with their ship and the same officer exclaims moments later "That has to be the best Pirate I've ever seen.." Depp brings the character of Sparrow to life in a way I've rarely seen. Jack Sparrow is a brilliant, vibrant, fun, hilarious, tough hero with such a unique personality. If for no other reason he makes this film and Depp IS Sparrow and deserved that Oscar nod for this. Orlando Bloom is the young handsome swashbuckler/blacksmith who gets involved in this adventure over the love of a woman. Bloom plays young William Turner who doesn't realize he is the son of a famous Pirate. Bloom who I often find rather drab and low brow seems to make that work for him in many roles and this is no exception. He still manages to be subtly vibrant and him and Depp play such an incredible duo playing off each other in action scenes and comedy all at once. This is the pirate version of a buddy cop movie and Bloom and Depp are perfect together. Bloom's performance is in many ways the exact opposite of Depp's Sparrow and it works wonderfully. He is the perfect hero...handsome, in love, quiet and strong. Keira Knightley is the lovely Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the Governor and a bit of a dreamer when it comes to adventure and pirates. Secretly in love with William Turner she is being promised to another man who is a "better match." Knightley is terrific as Swann because she is as strong a character as any of the male leads. She holds her own against all of them and her character is feisty, strong and holds her own in battle. She does all this while still appearing lady like as to the time of the film. The absolutely phenomenal Geoffrey Rush plays Captain Barbossa, Jack Sparrow's brutally evil nemesis who has stole his ship and crew from him but has been cursed by a treasure. Barbossa is Captain Hook with a shot of evil in him. He's brutal and convincing and Rush is brilliant. Him and Depp have terrific chemistry as enemies and he is a great adversary and probably one of the best movie villains of all time.
The chemistry and performance between these four actors make this film as brilliant as it could be. Add into that an absolutely stunning story and script that mixes true action with laugh out loud comedy, physical stunts and special effects. Being a huge anti-fan of CGI I was a little disappointed with the hokey look of the undead Pirate Crew, I think they could have done more with good old fashion special effects. The crew looks clunky and fake when they are CGI'd out but even still it doesn't ruin the film by any means. Adults will love this just as much as kids if kids should even see it. There is plenty of the good guys specifically the English Navy who die at the hands of pirates and the pirates are pretty brutal as well and there are some really creepy scenes and I think adults will love this one!! Don't let the Disney stamp scare you away because you can't get adventure better then this one...I guarantee it...savvy?? 9/10