Sail away to fun on the high seas!

Rating: 10/10 (5 September 2003)

I had low expectations when I went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." After all, it is based on a theme park ride for Pete's sake. I left the theatre wanting MORE.
I love EVERYTHING about this movie. It shows that a blockbuster can be both intelligent and entertaining. The score, the visual effects,and a wonderful cast come together to create what I feel is the most entertaining film of the summer. Verbinski fills the screen with beautiful photography, humor,action, and awesome sword fights (in particular, the one that takes place in the blacksmith's shop). The fight scenes seem pointless since the villainous Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and his men cannot die. But the British Royal Navy aren't aware of this, and so they skew the evil pirates with their swords. Also, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), and Jack Sparrow have no knowledge of the immortality of the Black Pearl's crew. They, too, try in vain to kill them.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" is loaded with humor and goofy one-liners. I particularly enjoyed the Abbott and Costello antics of a pair of pirates, one of whom has a wooden eye. In one scene, they are in a row boat dressed in women's clothing.
Clearly, the highest praise goes to Johnny Depp for his performance as pirate, Jack Sparrow. Excuse me, 'Captain' Jack Sparrow. Imagine the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards in a pirate costume and you have an accurate picture of the character. And who knows? Perhaps pirates were the rock stars of their day.
Do yourself a favor and add "Pirates of the Caribbean" to your to-do list. You will be glad you did. Savvy?