A colourful, noisy,rumbustious adventure.

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2004)

Without a doubt this is Johnny Depp's film. As Captain Jack Sparrow he shows once again what a versatile actor he is. He bursts forth on the screen as a wily pirate character full of tricks such as distracting his adversaries with non-stop chatter.
His swaggering walk unsteadied by a little too much rum and his flippant manner endear him to us immediately. He seems to fear no man, and despite his unkempt appearance has a way with the women too.
Johnny Depp has a mammoth task. He is on the screen most of the time. The success of the film largely depends on his performance. Never once does he shirk this responsibility. Indeed he seems to enjoy every minute.
The battles at sea with cannonballs flying through the air bringing down masts and rigging and gouging great holes in the decks are a triumph of set design. Wooden ships are very inflammable and lend themselves to some dramatic moments with everything aflame amid noise and confusion. There is almost too much to watch at one sitting. It is just as well because the story is pretty thin.
The film especiaslly in the sword-fighting episodes is reminiscent of some of the early serials that once excited us at the Saturday afternoon flicks. Despite clash of steel on steel not much blood is apparent among the roguish-looking pirates who all look as if they need a hot bath. The make-up is right on target, a real credit to the artists.
Much of the time Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa has to act with a monkey sitting on his shoulder. An excellent little touch I thought as it added to his nasty character. I could not take my eyes off the monkey. He stole every scene for me.
If we may judge from the almost endless listing of credits, a lot of work was put into this production. It's loud and noisy and lots of fun and will be especially appreciated by those who grew up on pirate stories, and as in all those stories it's the good that triumphs over evil in the end.