Pirates Of The Caribbean
Curse Of The Black Pearl Dead Man's Chest At World's End On Stranger Tides
Pirates Of The
Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl -
Overview
Positives
Negatives
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Brief Review
A film based on a theme park ride always had the makings for a disaster which is quite a surprise that Pirates, despite the ridiculously long title, isn't actually half bad. Some of the acting is so so but Geoffery Rush brings Barbossa to life and Johhny Depp is fantastic as the swashbuckling Captain Jack. Together, they steal the show and the abundance of sword fights and good old fashioned fun make this one of the better films to come from 2003.
Full Review
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl is a dark horse released by Disney in 2003 that surprised a lot of people. The premise of a film based on a theme park ride with the same name always had the makings to be a disaster. Myself along with others thought it would be a musical with a lot of "aarghs" and "yo ho and a bottle of rum" and disgustingly cheesy lines. How wrong we were.
What sets Pirates apart from the same films in this category is the brilliant plot that keeps you engrossed right up until the end of the film. Whenever the film looks ready to collapse under the weight and start throwing some filler in, another big action set-piece hits and keeps the attention fixed firmly on the film. It's essentially a damsel in distress scenario but its disguised well and the modern take on pirates is fresh and different.
The main thing that makes this better than others from 2003 is the acting from the two standouts in the film. Geoffery Rush plays the villain Barbossa to perfection. His iconic character with his pet monkey is excellent and his lines are delivered well with a vicious edge that isn't too over the top-exactly what was needed here.
To counter the excellent acting of Geoffery Rush is the equally impressive Johnny Depp. The man was born to play a pirate and his character has the perfect blend of ruthlessness and humour to keep his sleazy character at the forefront of everything and most importantly, make him an iconic character.
The rest of the actors including Orlando Bloom who plays the dull Will Turner and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swan are seriously overrated in their roles as lead actor and actress respectively and actually hinder some of the scenes in my opinion. Yes they're good actors but here they really don't gel well together and are easily overshadowed by Depp and Rush.
The action sequences are top notch and most notably the swordplay which is second to none here and about the only scenes where Bloom flourishes. The cuts here are good and the best fight in my opinion is between Captain Jack and Will in the barn. The exchange of sword play and the intricate moves are well done and not forced at all.
The special effects are also very good here and aren't too overdone. The ghoul/zombie story intertwined with the pirates is not only a genius move but also one that works extremely well-especially with the realism portrayed by the zombie pirates. The skeletal bodies look astonishingly realistic and hats off to the special effects team for pulling that off.
Overall, Curse Of The Black Pearl is a film that exceeded expectations in 2003 and one that slots in well with other pirate stories. The inclusion of something new in the form of zombie pirates is one that feels fresh and not just thrown in for the sake of it which is good. Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are seriously overrated in their roles but Johnny Depp and Geoffery Rush are excellent in their pirate roles and are the standouts in the film. A good film overall.