Just about everyone on the planet has been to Disney World (or Disney Land) and gone on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. It's a slow-moving ride on water that's nothing special, but it looks cool, and once you get off, you walk out humming that memorable song that goes "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" It's a Disney World fixture, and anyone who goes to Disney World HAS to go on "Pirates of the Caribbean."
When it was announced that there would be a feature film based on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, most people, myself included, thought it was a bad idea. After all, Disney's "Country Bears" was a royal piece of shit, and it didn't exactly shake up the box office. Eventually, word got out that Jerry Bruckheimer was producing it, Gore Verbinski was directing it, and the cast would include Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom. Interesting.
The teaser for "Pirates of the Caribbean" (that's what it was called at the time... it would be a while before it was officially titled "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl") didn't show much, but the music set a tone that I hoped was indicative of the kinda movie it would be. It was part of the original score from the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film, "Bram Stoker's Dracula." The music in that film is dark, grand, and operatic. Incidentally, the music in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (by composer Wojciech Kilar) remains my favorite music score ever used in a film. That CD is fantastic.
When I saw the full trailer for the film, I was surprised. The movie looked really good, and more importantly, it didn't look like some cheesy kid flick. All was good until I was stopped at the Pembroke Lakes Mall by someone conducting a survey. I was taken to a little room where I was shown a trailer to "Pirates of the Caribbean." It was a trailer I'd never seen before, nor have I seen since. It was a trailer that was clearly made for little kids, and watching it made me wanna puke. Was the movie really a kid flick? I answered all the questions in the survey by ripping on the trailer and saying how bad it was.
Lemmie tellya right now, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is NOT a kid flick. It's the first film under the "Walt Disney Pictures" banner to receive a rating other than G or PG, and it's easy to see why. This movie truly earns it's PG-13 rating, and parents may be surprised by the film's violence. That being said, I really liked the movie. It's about 15 minutes too long, but otherwise, it's awesome.
The special effects are fantastic, and that's saying a lot considering how picky people are nowadays. Anything less than perfection is unacceptable, and the effects are absolutely flawless. There's a scene when Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush are swordfighting under shafts of moonlight, and it's stunning. The CG integration in that scene is seamless.
Speaking of Johnny Depp, I've been a fan of his for years, mostly because of his work with my favorite director, Tim Burton. When Johnny Depp and Tim Burton get together, greatness is practically guaranteed (in my humble opinion). Together they did "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," and "Sleepy Hollow." They haven't worked together in a while, but I hope they do soon. Anyway, Johnny Depp's acting in this movie should earn him an Oscar nomination. It won't, the Academy rarely acknowledges a movie like this, but he really does deserve it. He takes a character that could easily be dull and boring, and transforms him into one of the most entertaining movie characters I've ever seen. I doubt that Johnny Depp will ever "go Hollywood," but after this movie, his price tag will go up, you'll see.
Some would probably think that Johnny Depp's performance would overshadow everyone else's, but that's not gonna happen if Geoffrey Rush plays the villain. I first saw Geoffrey Rush in his Oscar-winning performance in "Shine." He really impressed me there. Then when I saw him in "Quills," I was truly amazed, the guy is incredible. In this film, he does an awesome job playing the evil pirate, and when Rush shares the screen with Depp, it's excellent.
Although Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush play the most interesting characters, the story actually centers around "Will Turner" and "Elizabeth Swann," as played by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. They're both very good, and they prove that they're destined for stardom. Orlando Bloom has already gotten a lot of attention as "Legolas Greenleaf" in "The Lord of the Rings" films, and Keira Knightley has been offered tons of roles since playing the role of the cute best friend in "Bend It Like Beckham." I think they'll both be major Hollywood stars within the next couple of years.
Gore Verbinski is the man. I've never seen "Mouse Hunt," his feature film directorial debut (I'll probably rent the DVD eventually), but I liked "The Mexican," and I really liked "The Ring." I knew he was a good director, but with this film, he proves that he's got what it takes to be one of the greats. I'm really looking forward to his future releases.
The screenplay was written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (together they helped write "Treasure Planet," "Shrek," "The Road to El Dorado," "The Mask of Zorro," "Small Soldiers," "Godzilla," and "Aladdin"), which was based on a story they came up with, along with Stuart Beattie (he helped write movies I never heard of, like "Kick," "Body Armor," and "Joey") and Jay Wolpert (he wrote "The Count of Monte Cristo"). Good job, fellas!
The music in the movie is excellent, by the way. It was composed by Klaus Badelt, a protégé of the great film score composer Hans Zimmer. I should also mention that Wojciech Kilar's music that was used in the teaser is also used briefly in the film.
Yes, this movie is too long, but that's really the only flaw. Despite it's length, the movie never really drags, and it's very entertaining. "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is a great movie. Who'da thunk it?
Scale of 1-10: 9