Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

2003  PG-13  ADVENTURE  2h 22min

CAST— Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Pryce

MUSIC— Klaus Badelt, Hans Zimmer  DIRECTOR— Gore Verbinski  BASED ON—  Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyworld attraction)

     Johnny Depp gives a terrific, Oscar-nominated performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in this ghostly, swash-buckling adventure. Sparrow sets sail to commandeer the ship that was stolen from him, The Black Pearl, from its mutinous pirate captain, Barbossa. But here’s the catch: Captain Barbossa and his pirate crew have stolen and spent treasure that should have been left alone, Aztec Gold. They have now been cursed to roam the seas searching for the last remaining pieces of the spent treasure…as the undead. They must find and recover the spent treasure to reverse the curse, to return to their human state. With good performances and great CGI work, this film should have been more than it is. What we have is entertaining, but it’s overlong by 30-40 minutes, plus, it has too many plot points to keep up with. The best things about it are the effects and Johnny Depp’s performance, which steals the show. Arr!!

OUR RATING— ** ½

FOLLOWED BY— Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)