A sure reminder of what a trip to the cinema should be about.

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2008)

The first and best by a country mile POTC film.It embodies everything that is fun about blockbuster cinema, great leads,relentless fun,fantastic music,clever script and a fizzing little story.The film arrived with no expectation, the trailer puzzled most folks but the film gathered momentum through glorious praise and word of mouth reviews.Others have said it but Johnny Depp is amazing in the lead role.The guy has played some distinctive roles in his time, Ed Scissorhands etc, etc but i feel that this is his defining moment. This is the role that people will remember him for.He improvises the character to wonderful effect and is joined by fun performances from Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.Gore Verbinski has proved himself to be adept in the big league and even though the sequels clearly lacked inspiration,the best of his talents are on show here as he allows his Depp to work his magic.The following films have somewhat tarnished the look of this film by being overlong and largely boring but as a standalone pirate adventure film, look no further than this.