Depp is insane.

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2004)

Very rarely has an actor created a character as memorable as Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. I, admittingly, was reluctant to see this film from the previews and the glimpses of Sparrow we caught there. He seemed too cartoony, too silly, and not like a character I'd wind up liking. In the film itself, however, not only does it work, but Depp alone is half the reason to see Pirates.
That's not to downplay Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Keira Knightley, they play their parts well and feel natural in all their roles (I especially like Barbossa's twisted sense of humor - Rush had a lot of fun as a pirate captain), and seeing Rush and Depp share a scene was interesting since both characters were incredibly well played and the two play off one another particularly well.
This is one of those movies that walks a dangerous line of being too serious with silly material and simultaneously being too silly with serious material (if that makes sense); however, Verbinski and the cast know when to be silly, when to be serious, and how to have fun with their production. The film knows exactly what it is and what its doing (when its doing it), making it a perfect movie to sit back, suspend disbelief, and enjoy the ride.
Obviously, it also offers plenty of references to the Disney ride and other pirate films to catch for the remotely observant viewer.
The film marks, Klaus Badelt's third solo Hollywood score, and thank you Hans Zimmer for inviting this talent to the states. Though the Pirates score reminds me of a number of previous film scores, that is by no means a complaint - he's infused it with enough personal touches and introduced enough new material to make it distinctly his own. Like the movie, it's fun and intense at the same time.
In short, sure the film has its share of inaccuracies and reasons not to like it . . . but Pirates has such strong points and is enough fun to watch to stop caring about such minute details. If you can't have fun, go rent Black Hawk Down . . .