Johnny Depp Is Ready for His Close-Up

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2009)

"From producer Jerry Bruckheimer comes 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl', the thrilling high-seas adventure with a mysterious twist. The roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) idyllic pirate life capsizes after his nemesis, the wily Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), steals his ship, the 'Black Pearl', and later attacks the town of Port Royal, kidnapping the governor's beautiful daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightley).
"In a gallant attempt to rescue her and recapture the 'Black Pearl', Elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) joins forces with Jack. What Will doesn't know is that a cursed treasure has doomed Barbossa and his crew to live forever as the undead," according to the DVD sleeve description.
This first "PG-13"-rated Disney film unexpectedly became the first of a "Pirates of the Caribbean" feature franchise based on one of the company's amusement park rides. It's Disney off the Jerry Bruckheimer production line (so, plan accordingly), and is eye-pleasingly well-produced. The screenplay, by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, is quite a nice modernization of the classic "pirate" story.
The film's greatest strength is Mr. Depp's slosh-buckling, swish-buckling, swaggering, and staggering "Jack Sparrow".
Depp's characterization cuts through the screen with uncommon, original charm. This part made critics strut up and take notice, with Depp being rewarded with several "Best Actor" awards and nominations. This was also the film which vaulted Depp into the Quigley "Box Office" Top 10 stars list (#6, with a bullet). Actually, it conformed something already a reality among moviegoers - Depp in the cast made a film worth considering, and Depp as the star made a film worth shelling out the bucks to see.
******** The Curse of the Black Pearl (6/28/03) Jerry Bruckheimer : Gore Verbinski ~ Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush