Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy, Ghosts, Swashbuckler, Sea, Pirate, Love, Fantasy, Zombie, Vampires, Thieves, Gore, Kidnapping, Cult Classic
Tagline: Prepare to be blown out of the water.
Plot: Loosely inspired by the time-honored Disney theme-park ride, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL is a swashbuckling high-seas tale directed by Gore Verbinski. When Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), an eccentric rogue, arrives at Port Royal, he barely avoids going down with his ship. Soon enough, he's in the market for a new one, but not before he saves the life of Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the beautiful daughter of the governor (Jonathan Pryce). This act of bravery sets into motion a sweeping adventure involving Elizabeth's childhood friend, blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom); a mysterious medallion; and a legendary pirate ship, the Black Pearl. The Pearl's mottled Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) wants Elizabeth's doubloon necklace, and when she's kidnapped by the ol' salty dog and his crew, Sparrow and young Will must rescue her and find out the truth behind the ship's curse.Verbinski's PIRATES is a welcome throwback to Hollywood offerings of yesteryear, filled with rope-swinging heroes, crusty villains, treasure hoards, swift swordplay, and even wittier wordplay. Screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott have crafted one of the most clever action-movie scripts in many moons, and this gives the filmmakers and cast (especially Depp) plenty
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 Pirates of the Caribbean is good, but not great. Swashbuckling adventures are few and far between these days, so it's a pleasant surprise to see one that is competently made. To add to the enjoyment, the movie never takes itself too seriously. If there wasn't so much action, it would be tempting to classify the production as a comedy.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Shiver me timbers! Johnny Depp's outrageously coiffed buccaneer steals the show in an awkward pirate epic that's jampacked with energy, ambition and spectacular effects.--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
Wonderful swashbuckling adventure that delivers everything you could possibly want from a pirate movie, plus a little more besides – jaw-dropping special effects, a superb script and a show-stealing performance from Johnny Depp.  --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
A rip roaring adventure across the seven seas.  --Carl Lazarevic (MovieWeb)
This is one hell of an entertaining ride that shows how summer movies are supposed to be like.  --Brian Gallagher (MovieWeb)
And while Pirates may be as overlong as its franchise-minded title, the characters are so engaging, the action so entertaining, you won't really care. --Nev Pierce (BBC Films)
Moreover, "Pirates" is cleverly and consistently funny. The screenwriting team of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio actually get some decent one-liners and character bits in the movie, and remarkably, not all of them belong to Depp.--Jeffrey M. Anderson (San Francisco Examiner)
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is one of the few must-see films of this summer.--Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz)
While the plot and action are all deliberately familiar, director Gore Verbinski steers a continual course for sheer, mindless, rope-swinging, crow's-nest-hollering summer fun. --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
An entertaining film with something for all ages - and Johnny Depp's best ever performance 9/10--Anton Bitel (Movie Gazette)
There's lots to be enjoyed and, while never in much danger of becoming viewed as a classic, this is one of the summer's better releases. 7/10--Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
Trimming half an hour from this bloated, 143-minute blockbuster would have highlighted the film's treasures, not the least of which is Johnny Depp's endearingly eccentric performance  --Lou Lumenick (New York Post)
The movie with the summer’s longest title also boasts the season’s best production values, first-rate computer-animated special effects and a strong ensemble cast ready to toss your low expectations overboard.  --Sean O'Connell (FilmCritic.com)
Johnny Depp’s memorable performance is the comic equivalent of Daniel Day-Lewis’s equally remarkable Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York. 79/100--Dan Jardine (Apollo Guide)
The script is so concerned with double-crossings and mythology that it doesn’t bother to give Will and Elizabeth more than a couple of scenes together, which undermines the potential poignancy of their unconsumed romance.--Kevin N. Laforest (Montreal Film Journal)
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| Cast |
Johnny Depp
Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Platoon |
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 | Orlando Bloom
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
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 | Mackenzie Crook
Finding Neverland, The Brothers Grimm, The Merchant of Venice |
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| It is as thrilling as a good theme park ride, with a coherent narrative that smartly juggles a full continuum of heroes and villains, comedy that seems oblivious to gratuity, and great star power from its two leading men, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. -- (Hollywod Reporter)
Pirates of the Caribbean suffers from the fact that, well, it's over-long and boring. Yes, it has some moments, but what Ebert wrote is true, there's a really good 90-minute movie buried somewhere inside the 2 ½ hour Pirates. 6/10-- (CHUD.com)
On the other hand, the cartoonish violence is unobjectionable, the above-and-underwater photography luscious and the musical score stirring.--Ron Weiskind (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
There is a clear sense here that Pirates of the Caribbean is a whole lot more than “just another summertime popcorn-muncher” and damn if everyone involved doesn’t pull it off with flying colors.-- (eFilmCritic.com)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is surprisingly good, but it probably would not have been half as entertaining if it were not for Johnny Depp's commanding performance as Captain Jack Sparrow.  -- (Hollywood.com)
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