Ye be shanghaied by this one.

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2003)

Ahoy, me hearties! The pirate movie be back and, blimey, if it be keelhaulin' the scurvy- ridden bilge that be marooned in yon summer theaters.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl is a big, sprawling adventure. The kind you don't see anymore and it's a damn shame. The script is smart. It allows the characters to figure things out. It keeps you in the film. Yeah, it may be a tad too long at its two hour and twenty-four minute run time, but it flies by a good portion of the time.
The acting is superb with not a single person acting in any self-conscious way that would reveal they are in a pirate movie. Geoffrey Rush is great as Captain Barbossa with his pirate-like growl. He even utters "Arrrr" much to the delight of the audience. Casting off his turn as an elf, Orlando Bloom takes on the unlikely hero role with vigor enough to prove his acting chops.
Of course, the real star here is Johnny Depp as the fey pirate, Jack Sparrow, a pirate captain without a ship. In fact, Depp gets the best movie entrance this summer in a leaky, sinking dinghy. His character he claims is based on Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and it shows. He is half-crazed and swishes around delivering the best lines in the film. Yet, he is completely believable and never goes (dare I say it?) overboard. I say it's about damn time the Academy stood and noticed one of our generation's most versatile and creative actors, but that's just me.
Pirates is one of those adventure films that will have you grinning with pleasure through most of its high-spirited hijinks and is right behind Finding Nemo for pure summer fun. Ye be a swab if ye miss this one. Sink me, if I don't be givin' this movie four st-arrrrs.