Not bad, but not really all that great

Rating: 6/10 (28 June 2006)

I cannot help but think that this film could have been much better in more capable hands. As others have noted, it runs way too long. Roger Ebert rather astutely observed that somewhere in this 143 minute movie could be a decent 90 minute movie; perhaps he is correct, though we might never know. Gore Verbinski should re-edit this movie for a director's cut and leave out about forty-five minutes; perhaps that would help resolve at least some of its shortcomings. The acting is nothing special, which is to be expected given the way the film plays like a combination of a slapstick comedy and a children's movie. Johnny Depp is a very good, serious actor, as evidenced in "Blow," "Ed Wood," "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "Finding Neverland," etc., though I didn't really like his performance in this film. He does much as much can be expected to develop his character, though I cannot help but wonder if he (along with the rest of the cast) considered this from the onset as simply a paycheck because it appears many of the actors didn't take it seriously and merely phoned in their performances. It doesn't help that they didn't have much with which to work, either. I'm not certain why the principle leads would sign on for two more entries to this series, though money would again be the prime suspect. Action-adventure movies can be fun and entertaining without being shallow and resorting to clichéd tactics as this movie does; the recent Harry Potter and Spider-man movies are good examples of movies that successfully combine entertainment and action with competent, intelligent scripting. Furthermore, it seems to me the makers of this movie could not decide what the target audience for this movie would be, and the result is that it appears to be intended for children, yet is entirely too long to retain their attention and contains entirely too much violence and too many gruesome effects for children. This seems to be a problematic trademark for Verbinski, whose "Mousehunt" (1997) seemed to be clearly intended for children, yet contained some decidedly adult humor. I cannot really recommend a movie that has me wishing it would end halfway through it, which this one did. That is not to say it is bad or that it is dull because it is undoubtedly ambitious and there are moments throughout the film, until the last frames, which show undeniable sparks of energy. Some of the scenes work well and the action is more than adequate. Also, we don't see very many pirate movies any more, so it does have that going for it, you know, which is nice. Ultimately, however, the film meanders about, loses focus and is simply not good enough to warrant a viewing. With two more movies on the way, perhaps there was enough material among this trilogy that would have warranted making 1.5 or even 2 movies from the first the one. I received the DVD as a present, watched it once and must say I am not in a hurry to sit through it again. (However, I might skip to the scenes with Keira Knightley, whose radiance is enough to lift any film)