Ahoy mateys, this be one cool movie!

Rating: 10/10 (25 October 2005)

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! That's what I feel like having watched "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"! I have to admit that I don't know any other pirate movies, but this one gives the genre the best possible name. It's mainly due to Johnny Depp's ultra-neat role as swashbuckler Jack Sparrow, but there's other things too.
It all begins when a little girl retrieves a medallion from a boy; she doesn't realize just how important this particular medallion is! Several years later, we see that this now grown-up girl is Elizabeth Swann (the ever gorgeous Keira Knightley), the governor's daughter. Unfortunately, that's when the pirates led by Capt. Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) storm the town and take Elizabeth hostage.
Enter Jack Sparrow and his brave companion Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). These guys may be oddballs, but boy do they know how to fight pirates! Depp based his characterization on Keith Richards (yes, THE Keith Richards), and he plays the role to great effect. "POTC: TCOTBP" is a real treat from beginning to end. Gore Verbinski is proving himself to be a very interesting director, with this movie - plus "Mouse Hunt" and "The Ring" - to his credit. Now that I've seen this movie, I almost might like to try out a little swashbuckling myself. A pirate's life just might be the life for me...