The film opens as a feared pirate named Captain Jack Sparrow pulls into port with just a ship. He has no crew and even his boat is 90% submerged into the waters. He wants to steal another ship from the docks, but he obviously wants a good ship which means going into the restricted area and trying to fool the guards(who are a already a few picnics short of a picnic) into letting him past. At the same time a governors daughter, named Elizabeth, is at the top of the cliff and faints due to a very tight corset. She drops into the waters and only captain Sparrow can save her. What he doesn't realize at this point is that she's wearing an amulet that he himself is looking for. The amulet was stolen by Sparrows crew who had attained it after a mutiny which left him stranded 10 years previously, an event he wants revenge for. The amulet though is calling out to the crew and as soon as it hits the water they make their way to town. That night the pirate crew get's to the town and kidnaps the governors daughter leaving only the town blacksmith, who's in love with her, and Captain Sparrow as the people with the ability to save her. Yet on the ship Elizabeth soon discovers that her captors are not entirely of this world.
Yes you guessed it, it's time for a good old fashioned adventure set on the seven sea's. I've actually known about this film for a long time, but I didn't always look forward to it. When I first heard the title Pirates Of The Caribbean I had images of the last real pirate movies to get a mainstream release, Treasure Island and A Muppets Treasure Island. Needless to say they didn't inspire confidence in me, but when I saw the trailer things changed. I was shocked by just how good the film was looking. I didn't care that it was a mindless action movie based on a fairground attraction because not since the trailer for the original Mummy had I been so excited about an adventure movie. Sadly expectations like that are rarely met and I've had to wait longer than most as the film wasn't released in Britain until today. The popularity that the film has received critically though made my expectations rise to unattainable heights; so surely a film couldn't possibly meet those high expectations, right? Well I'll tell you now that not only have my expectations been miraculously met, but they've actually been exceeded.
This is largely down to Johnny Depp who simply steals the movie as Captain Jack Sparrow. He's made a bit of a career for himself playing strange, eccentric characters and Sparrow seems to be the natural end of that cycle. It's hard to imagine him being able to find a character with a personality as, unique, as Sparrows. Depp uses his experience to produce the films best performance though. He get's Sparrows spaced out stare down to a tee, which has you convinced that the character is not as smart of he suggests. Yet you find yourself proven wrong as the captain outwits the guards at every turn and sails away in their own ship, which is when Depp get's to have the most fun with the characters dry wit. Depp is then literally in all of the films funniest scenes, and that's no coincidence.
He's backed up well though. Both Orlando Bloom (unrecognizable without the golden hair and pointy ears) and Keira Knightley play off him to give their own strong performances. Bloom plays the character of Will Turner, the man who's father was murdered by the spectral pirates and who is in love with Elizabeth. His performance is charismatic and funny, though his comedy is much more physical. A scene at the start where he accidentally damages a lamp in the governors mansion is the perfect example of his humour. He doesn't quite succeed with the verbal sarcasm but he doesn't have much either. He handles himself fantastically though in the films action scenes where he really get's to release all of his energy. Though it could be said that he doesn't really do anything that he didn't get to do as Legolas, but the same thing couldn't be said about Keira Knightley. I knew the girl had range after seeing her in The Hole where she played a sweet and innocent girl, a menacing psychopath and the vulnerable scared girl in the different versions of events. Then in Bend It Like Beckham she proved she could do romantic comedy too, but I never expected her to be able to play a truly strong women in an action adventure. She makes it look easy though. Like Depp she seems adept at both the physical and verbal comedy so that you're laughing hard whether she's falling off a cliff or pulling a one liner out of her hat. I actually felt she pulled off the role of strong independent posh lady better than Rachel Weisz, and I actually liked Weisz. It's just that the character of Elizabeth is required to do more. She's a stronger character who isn't afraid to actually get into the action, and a running gag involving her girdle proves to satirize the role women used to play in these type of movies. Thankfully her performance is good enough to make it work.
Enough about that though, I think anybody interested in this film is not going for the sake of the hero's. Thankfully the pirates shape up nicely too. Captain Barbossa, played wonderfully by Timothy Rush, is an excellent example of how to make a bad guy in this type of movie. He's a sneering, evil villain without any redeeming features whatsoever and his voice is amazing. Rush's voice is so deep and gravelly that it almost seems like a growl, which works perfectly to set up the character as a monster. Plus every single pirate in his motley crew has an individual look and personality. Even the ones who don't get to utter a line leave an impression, but none more so than the poor guy with the wooden eye. He can't afford a real glass eye (which is odd considering he was cursed for stealing all of this treasure) and as a result is the cause of some of the films best comic moments. I don't know why, and I know it should have gotten repetitive but seeing this skinny pirate/skeleton chasing around his wooden eye was always hilarious.
Finally then we reach the moment you've all been dieing to hear about. The action in this film is first class. It's easily the best pure action movie to get a release this year with some excellently choreographed swordplay. The fight between Depp and Bloom see's them almost dancing with their swords, which is made even better by the banter between them. Later in the film we get to see the usual swinging from the mast, diving into the water style of scenes but they're done in such a way as to make them great. It's the effects, the CGI pirates look absolutely amazing. I mean don't get me wrong, they'll never top the effects in Lord Of The Rings but they still give it a good shot. Try to imagine something along the lines of The Mummy in terms of how these scenes are pulled off. You'll see ghost pirates walking along the ocean floor before sneaking onto a ship and attacking everyone on board. There's a definite sense of homage to the works of Ray Harryhausen as the characters do battle with the skeletons, but like the Mummy it seems to be spoofing those films. Some of the jokes, such as the disembodied arm, have been done before, but on the whole the jokes are new enough to work.
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