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Review by: Jack Foley | Rating:
Two
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary by director Gore Verbinski
and star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Keira Knightly,
Jack Davenport and screenwriters Stuart Beattie, Ted Elliott,
Terry Rossio and Jay Wolbert; An Epic At Sea; Fly on the set;
Diaries; Below Deck; Blooper reel; Deleted scenes; Moonlight Serenade
scene progression; Image gallery; Pirates in the parks; Enhanced
computer features.
THE pirate movie genre has seemed like the cinematic equivalent
of walking the plank for those who dared to sail its troubled
waters in recent times, so the prospect of sitting through a two-hour
plus swashbuckler, that is also based on a theme park ride, seemed
enough to make anyone feel sea-sick at the prospect.
Yet Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl arrives
like a breath of fresh air amid the current crop of blockbuster
sequels, stealing the thunder of many with its breathless mix
of modern-day special effects and classic, tongue-in-cheek skulduggery.
Producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, and director, Gore Verbinski, have
done what many thought was impossible, by keeping a pirate movie
afloat in the middle of cinema’s busiest season, thanks to
the efforts of its stellar cast and crew.
Though taking its inspiration from the Disney theme park ride
of the same name, and containing several visual references, the
movie stands on its own two feet, thanks largely to the combined
script-writing talents of Ted Elliott and Rerry Rossio, the men
responsible for the equally swashbuckling Mask of Zorro, as well
as Shrek.
The movie contains a gleeful wit that harks back to the golden
days of the genre, evoking memories of the playful stupidity of
Burt Lancaster’s The Crimson Pirate, as well as the panache
of classic Errol Flynn.
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And in Johnny Depp, Verbinski has found the ultimate Jolly Roger
- a gloriously offbeat central ‘hero’, who effortlessly
steals every scene he is in with the type of performance that
defies superlatives.
His Captain Jack Sparrow, a legend in his own mind, is the type
of creation that could easily have backfired, sinking the movie
with it, but his performance is one which brings added enjoyment
to an already worthy adventure, and has been described, by his
co-stars, as a sort of ‘Keith Richards meets Tommy Cooper,
with an element of Pepe Le Pue’.
Sparrow is the former captain of the legendary Black Pearl, a
notorious pirate ship, now helmed by the wily Barbossa (Geoffrey
Rush), which has been doomed to the world of the undead by a cursed
treasure.
When Barbossa kidnaps Elizabeth Swann, the beautiful daughter
(Keira Knightley) of the town of Port Royal’s Governor (Jonathan
Pryce), as part of his plan to reverse the curse, Sparrow teams
up with Orlando Bloom’s love-struck Will Turner in a bid
to get her back, stealing the Navy’s flagship vessel, the
HMS Interceptor, and provoking the wrath of Swann’s betrothed
(Jack Davenport).
The ensuing chase culminates with the inevitable confrontation
between Sparrow and Barbossa, as well as his crew of pirates,
who are transformed into living skeletons by moonlight (as part
of an obvious nod to the effects work of Ray Harryhausen), on
the mysterious Isla de Muerta.
At two hours and 20 minutes, Pirates of the Caribbean is probably
a little too long, yet viewers should be having too much fun to
notice.
Aside from Depp, there are several performances to savour, with
Bloom cutting a suitably suave leading-man figure, and Knightley
revelling in the opportunity to be more than just a damsel in
distress. Rush, too, displays a nice line in comic timing as the
villain of the piece, and provides a neat foil to the eccentric
Sparrow.
Yet it is Depp that you will truly remember and he, more than
anyone, helps to ensure that this is one Summer movie to treasure.
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