Blows Other Summer Out Of The Water...The Best of 2003

Rating: Null/10 (29 August 2003)

My first experience with pirates was turning on the TV one weekend afternoon when I was little and watching a classic Errol Flynn flick called "Captain Blood". This was very exciting to watch and it held my interest throughout the picture. Basically that wasn't the first time I was interested in pirates. Pirates have been scene in movies and TV shows for years,and the shows I can recall were shows based on Saturday morning cartoons and those thrilling Saturday afternoon matinees that were shown from the 30's and 40's on television,if there wasn't anything else to do. Basically,the last "pirate" movie that was okay,but did it every suck was the overrated Geena Davis vehicle called "Cutthroat Island",and from then on I really lost interest in the pirate genre and so did Hollywood for a while.
Until now.........................
"Pirates Of The Caribbean:The Curse Of The Black Pearl",maybe the best the finest pirate movie to ever grace the screen,and it is done in the grand tradition of those classic pirate movies of the past and it also goes back to those classic standard Disney fare that hasn't been seen in ages,and if Walt Disney himself were living today,he would be proud. This film is the first ever "PG13" rated feature under the family friendly/family oriented Walt Disney Pictures and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and it its one of the biggest thrill rides of the summer.
It has everything you expect in a grand adventure/action packed flick: action,intrigue,romance,humor--all on a grand epic scale that is not to be missed! It's full of old-fashioned thrills and spills. It has classic Hollywood glamour as well---not since the likes of Errol Flynn- men sporting pencil-thin mustaches and women wearing tight corsets,not to mention fantastic special effects all around courtesy of the full advantage of 21st Century cutting edge technology that gives it the marvelous touch,thanks to the crew at George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic along with that special Disney touch.
Best of all,the filmmakers didn't shy away from putting all of the elements to make this a damn good flick,in other words, to make a pirate movie,a pirate movie and to stand out like a pirate movie. People walking the plank, Pirates grabbing ropes and swinging onto other ships,Pirates searching for buried treasure and others including a pirate who has a talking parrot on his shoulder,and another one with a glass eye and another one that yells out...."Aaargh"!
As far as the acting goes,this film belongs to Johnny Depp. It is the reason to go see it. Johnny Depp gives the performance of a lifetime looking like the smidgens of classic actors Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks,Jr. "Pirates Of The Caribbean" is a terrific and satisfying popcorn picture that aims to please and has per se,kicked out the summer competition of 2003 at the box office.
The scariest scene but also the best FX scene in the whole movie: When Captain Barbossa (played by Geoffrey Rush) and his crew transformed into walking undead skeletons in the moonlight---this is surely Oscar material here,and I'm so glad that Ray Harryhausen is still alive to see this movie! This scene is scary and maybe too intense for the younger ones.