As Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) steps off his sinking dingy onto the wharf at Port Royal you just know things are going happen around him. He wants to steal a Royal Navy ship to retrieve his ship, the Black Pearl, from the blackguard Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who led a mutiny against him. He?s fortunate that Barbossa's men have recently kidnapped Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), the daughter of the British Governor because she holds the key to reversing a curse visited on Barbossa and his men after they stole a chest of Inca gold. Elizabeth's fiance Commander Norrington (Jack Davenport) is reluctant to go in pursuit, but Sparrow isn't, and neither is the young man who truly loves Elizabeth, sword-maker Will Turner (Orlando Bloom).
Where other high-concept movies have fallen to earth Pirates of the Caribbean soars. And it's for a number of reasons. The first would have to be the writing team of Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio of Shrek fame; they've created characters with wit and charm and a narrative that is unbelievable fun. And then there's director Gore Verbinski who directs at a rattling good pace, letting his fine actors chew the scenery. And they do.
Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow is a sight to behold – braided hair, a suspect gait, teeth that either need a good diet or some more fillings from ill-gotten gains and an accent that's mid-Atlantic cockney. It's such a cheeky performance, and he gets away with it! As does Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, he's absolutely wonderful. Those are the two standouts but they're all good. I haven't had such a rollicking good time in the cinema in ages. Comments by David Stratton: For a while this works as a lavish pirate movie, with a genuinely offbeat performance from Johnny Depp and a wonderfully enjoyable one from Geoffrey Rush as the pirate chief. But this adaptation of a theme park ride soon sinks under its own weight; it's far too long, and the supernatural elements aren't very interesting. (Once we know that the pirates are ghosts and can't be killed, where's the suspense?)
