Suprisingly Good (7/10)

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2003)

[I saw this in the theater, YMMV]
First off, I have to say I am a fan of the ride at Disneyworld and looked forward to the movie. Although there were four or five different parts of the movie I remember from the ride, the movie is not just scenes from the ride strung together inchoerently. Instead, we slowly learn the story of Captain Jack Sparrow. For a movie aimed at teenage girls with the inclusion of Orlando Bloom and a feel-good fairy-tale story ending, it is suprisingly good.
Finally, I have to say that I was suprised at the end of the movie to see this was a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. If I had known that, I would never have gone. He makes terrible, over the top action flicks like Days of Thunder, Bad Boys, The Rock, Con Air, Armageddon and Blackhawk Down. And in retrospect, his grubby fingerprints can be seen in the overly-long action sequences. The cute computer trick of having the actors move in and out of the moonlight to look whole then like a skeleton is neat the first five minutes of the final fight. But, as in all Bruckheimer movies, the action for action's sake is dragged on far too long.