HMS Pinafore meets Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rating: Null/10 (24 January 2004)

This rollicking film version of Disney's most popular ride brings the viewer everything they expect  sword fights, gun battles, debauchery, alley cats, the whole lot delivered with the tongue fixed very firmly in cheek. Central to the action is Johnny Depp's hilarious, camp portrayal of Captain Jack Straw, ably assisted by those two seasoned scene stealers Jeffrey Rush and Jonathan Pryce as Barbossa the cursed pirate and Governor Swann the father of the heroine Elizabeth. Keira Knightley gives a feisty performance as the girl who is promised to the stuffy commodore,but loves the humble blacksmith Orlando Bloom. Of the principals, only Bloom failed to make much impression, although much of that could be due to the fact that his character is fairly `straight' and all the others are so over the top.
Depp's performance is so reminiscent of HMS Pinafore, that I kept expecting him to burst into song - `I am the Pirate King'  and the non-stop hilarious action , thrills and special effects owe more to Raiders of the Lost Ark than to the pirate movies of the 40s. The plot is pretty thin, but why expect more of something of this genre  the performances are flawless, the thrills and the laughs come one on top of the other  this is a movie made to entertain not to make you think.
A thoroughly enjoyable movie.