Depp adds needed ingredient

Rating: 6/10 (3 August 2003)

This easily could have been your run of the mill pirate movie but thank god Johnny Depp is not only a terrific actor but one that adds real "Character" to his characters. Film starts out with a young boy found adrift at sea with a gold medallion around his neck and an old ship which looks like a ghost ship is spotted. Years later the boy Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is working with a blacksmith and in love with Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and she is the daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce) who would rather see his daughter marry Cmdr. Norrington (Jack Davenport). One day at port a strange sailor shows up as his small vessel sinks and he is found out to be pirate Jack Sparrow (Depp). They want to hang him but that night the town is attacked by pirates headed by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Jack has a personal beef with him. Seems as though Jack was the Captain of the ship Black Pearl but the crew performed a mutiny and left Jack on a deserted island which he escaped from. Two of the pirates grab Elizabeth because she has Will's medallion and while questioning her she says her last name is Turner. She discovers during her kidnapping that the pirates are really the walking dead and in the moonlight they appear as rotted cadavers. They think she is related to "Boot Strap" Turner who was a pirate that they killed and they need the blood of his offspring to become human again. Jack and Will steal a ship and go to recruit sailors so they can save Elizabeth and Jack can reap the rewards as well. This film is directed by Gore Verbinski and along with "Mouse Hunt" he demonstrates a real flare for lavish sets and decorum. The sets are terrific here and the special effects are pretty good as well, especially some of the underwater shots looking up at the bottom of the ships. The big problem with this film (Besides being too long) is the script. How many times did Depp get captured by either side and then have to talk his way out? And the romance between Bloom and Knightley is just so cliche. Knightley is particularly dreary. She's a fresh pretty young face but in this film her role could have been performed by any other actress and it would have been the same. She showed much more spark and left an indelible mark in the film "Bend It Like Beckham". Here, she's just a forgettable pretty face. What saves this film is Depp and Rush. Thankfully these two remarkable actors add so much imagination to their roles and they give the film the added flavor it badly needed. Can you imagine this film without them? Depp has stated that he played his role in the nature of a drunken Keith Richards and with the eyeliner he wears its a joy to watch him. Rush also does a good job and with that monkey on his back he seems to be having a good time. Some of the other pirates are played on a comedic level and one that stands out is the pirate with a glass eye. The film doesn't take itself seriously and this attitude works to its advantage. This film came very close to being very routine but with the performances of Depp and Rush they together save it from being predictable and stale.