good film, but could've been better

Rating: Null/10 (29 September 2001)

basically this is a wonderful movie if you can get past Christina Ricci's boring performance and a sometimes confusing script. The visuals are great, Johnny Depp is great, and some scenes are damn near brilliant. Especially the opening scenes and the big finale are tour de forces of directing and photography. I will have a hard time forgetting some of those beautiful images. The screenplay is probably its weakest link. The plot is kind of routine, familiar stuff. The dialogue is often silly and the romance is way underdeveloped. But fortunately the good things in the film largely outweigh the bad and make it a memorable viewing experience. I'm giving this 7/10.