encounters some rough moments but overall a nice ride

Rating: Null/10 (28 August 2003)

Probably the most commercially successful pirate movie after the days of Errol Flynn, "Pirates of the Caribbean" pairs blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) with unscrupulous pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Along with a ragtag team of pirates, they must battle a band of the world's most notorious pirates aboard the legendary "Black Pearl" ship led by the cursed Captain Barbossa, in order to save Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), the daughter of an English governor and Turner's love interest, as well as to reclaim certain honors and possessions that were once Sparrow's.
The film is lavishly produced (it's backed by Mr. Bruckheimer, what else do you expect?) and we have a flamboyant production design. I like how Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom exchange banters with each other and with the rest of the cast, and those swashbuckling skills are well displayed. We also get some decent performance from Geoffrey Rush but I really would want to give credit to Keira Knightley who did a marvelous portrayal of Elizabeth Swann. She's got the looks, the spunk, and the appeal; plus she's probably the prettiest English actress I have seen in a while. So does this mean that "Pirates" goes for an absolute smooth sailing henceforth?
Not really.
Sure there are sword fights, ship adventures, and the whole pirate-movie shebang. Also, the leads' charisma and diverse natures work together, and here the story itself is more than good enough to stand in its own right. "Pirates" has all the elements I am looking for in a typical summer film and I commend it if only for the entertainment value.
But while the character ambiguity of Depp and the on-screen presence of Knightley make the whole outing interesting, the film steered a bit towards being a ho-hum. It is more like an overstretched theme park ride that seems enjoyable at first, but then eventually becomes tiresome. Or maybe this is one case where I expected too much that it left me quite unsatisfied.

So I guess this depends on what your expectations are. Sure, it had its shortcomings, and it wasn't as good as it could have been, but I know this is certainly what majority of moviegoers are looking forward to these days. If so, fine. Just like Barbossa, we are parched with thirst for a good summer movie and this could be the one that could break the curse and quench that thirst. So go on and sail into the movie. You know you want to.
Grade: B