Better than I expected!

Rating: 10/10 (10 July 2003)

I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to see this movie. The fact that Johnny Depp was in it guaranteed that I'd have to watch it at some point, but with Bruckheimer producing and some non-impressive trailers I wasn't that excited about it.
X2 was a fair effort. Terminator 3 sucked. I was convinced this was just a summer of duds. Thank God for Pirates. It blew those other films out of the water. Johnny Depp is a God send. Never before have I been so enthralled in a character. He was unbeliably fun to watch. His performance alone raises the film from above B-movie level. The actual script isn't funny enough to be a lot of fun, nor is it creepy enough to be a genre effort. But Depp's interpretation of his character transforms this movie into something awe inspiring. It gives it a completely different feel and actually helps it retain that sort of innocent goofiness the ride has.
Geoffrey Rush was also great as Captain Barbossa. The sword fight between him and Sparrow was a stand out moment in a film full of stand out moments. Orlando Bloom was pretty boring, but then again the role didn't require much else other than a 'straight man' to Depp's colorful Captain. I'd heard all these comments about how Depp was the best reason to see the film and I can sincerely say that none of that was exaggerated. It truly is reason enough to go see the film.
The special effects are average. Nothing spectacular but nothing horrible. The scene of the two ships doing battle is awesome. And all of the landscapes and towns they created digitally look perfect. From start to finish you are immersed in this world. Speaking of start to finish... waaaay too long. While it rarely ceases to entertain, there a few patches where you'd wish they could just move on to the next thing.
Bottom line: I thought it was a great movie. Better than the previews made it look and a lot more fun and worthy than other summer fare. I don't think it's bold to say Depp has created one of his most memorable characters. No small feat for a man whose resume is loaded with memorable characters. While its essentially a B-movie, the A-List cast and tongue in cheek attitude help raise Pirates to something else entirely. Well worth checking out. I give it an A-