Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Many years ago, my parents took my sister and me on a trip to Disneyland. Among many of the rides we rode at the park was Pirates of the Caribbean. I was not impressed. Flash forward some years (none of your business how many), and Disney announced it was making a movie based on the the ride. I rolled my eyes and made some comment about how some people would make movies about pretty much anything. But after having seen this weekend's much touted "summer blockbuster," I'm delighted to be able to tell you: I was wrong.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl begins in the past when a boy is rescued from the aftermath of a pirate attack by a ship bearing an island governor (Jonathan Pryce) and his young daughter. The girl, who has a fascination with pirates much to her father's dismay, steals a gold medallion from around the unconscious boy's neck when she realizes it's pirate gold and she fears what the British officers aboard the ship might do to the child. Years later, the two children have grown to adulthood. Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is now a beautiful young woman who is adored from afar by the boy she helped rescue, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). Separated by status (she the governor's daughter, he a blacksmith's apprentice), Will can only watch while Elizabeth is pursued by the handsome Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport), in charge of local British troops and favored by Elizabeth's father as a good match.

Into this rigidly controlled "civilized" society comes the handsome and devious Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), a pirate sorely in need of a ship and a crew. Before Sparrow can realize any of his plans, however, he's recognized as the pirate he is and sentenced to be executed. As Sparrow languishes in prison, the entire town is attacked from the sea by pirates bent on retrieving a piece of Aztec gold which just happens to be in the form of the medallion taken from Will by Elizabeth years before. To get the gold, the pirates kidnap Elizabeth. And Will, who will do anything to save the woman he loves, finds himself (much to his own disgust) allied with the notorious Captain Sparrow and chasing after the nefarious Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) who sails aboard the infamous Black Pearl along with his cursed crew. The missing gold and a blood sacrifice are required to reverse the curse, and it's a race between pirates to determine just who will win and what the prize will turn out to be.

Johnny Depp is an odd man known for taking even odder roles. But he's a brilliant actor, and the people who made Pirates of the Caribbean say they had Depp in mind from the beginning to play Captain Sparrow. They made a good choice. Depp is fantastic, and he brings characteristics to his pirate that most actors wouldn't have thought of let alone dared to try. Sparrow is something of a fop, yet a ladykiller; he's a liar and a thief, yet with his own sense of honor. All of this comes across onscreen with both humor and sympathy as well as considerable charisma. He's very, very bad, but you like him anyway. Orlando Bloom, most recently famous for his role as Legolas (an elf) in the Lord of the Rings movies (of which Part I and Part II have been released to date), is well cast as Will Turner. Keira Knightley is very good, particularly when you realize just how young this fine actress is (filming started when she was just 17). Geoffrey Rush lives up to all of his past accolades as an actor, and looks like he's having a really good time to boot playing the thoroughly nasty Captain Barbossa. And Gore Verbinski's (he's the director of the very well crafted horror movie The Ring) direction is managed perfectly, with a light but sure touch, for a script that combines horror with humor, and suspense with romance.

Pirates of the Caribbean is also a delight simply to look at. The costumes and the sets are exquisite. But the special effects deserve praise all their own. Industrial Light and Magic has long been the premiere effects studio in the world, but ILM has outdone even itself this time. Most of you know that I'm a special effects fanatic and that I tend to be very picky about them. When they're good, I enjoy them immensely; if there's even a slight bobble in them, I am annoyed at what spoils - for me, at least - the scene. So I can give no higher praise to Pirates of the Caribbean than this: during some scenes which were positively brimming with special effects, I forgot that they were effects. Completely forgot.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a terrific film on every level. Spend the money. Forget what you've seen in Disneyland if you've ever hopped aboard the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. It's the movie that's the truly impressive ride.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is rated PG-13. The high quality of the effects means that the horror of the curse is very, very real, and there are some suspenseful scenes that will be too much for young children. Best keep those kids prone to nightmares out of the theatre, too. But for other kids 10 and up, and for adults who still like to have a really good time at the movies, I highly recommend Pirates of the Caribbean.

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