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Movie: Pirates Of The Caribbean
Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley
Directed by Gore Verbinski; Written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
(Buena Vista)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Taking its name from a rather hokey Disneyland ride, Pirates of The Caribbean could easily have been half baked as an undigestible jambalaya of Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power outtakes with a dollop of 21st bubblegum from Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Instead, Director Gore Verbinski has made this film an unrestrained joyride that delights in reviving swashbuckling for the big screen.
Depp in particular does an incredible job and damn near runs away with the film. He's had his share of memorable roles -- Edward Scissorhands, Hunter Thompson, Ed Wood, Gilbert Grape -- but his off-balance craftiness as Captain Jack Sparrow may well end up as the role most people remember him for. Geoffrey Rush takes on the role of Sparrow's nemesis with all his considerable talent and really makes Barbossa come alive, or dead as the moonlight dictates. Orlando Bloom, more famous as Legolas in Lord Of The Rings and every teenage girl's heartthrob, gets a much straighter role as Will Turner, but he also gets to woo Keira Knightley, last seen playing soccer in Bend It Like Beckham, and whose role as Elizabeth Swann will no doubt be thought about nightly for years to come by teenage boys.
The production values from the topsails down to the underwater footage are all first mate, er, first rate. Especially enthralling are the ghost scene transitions where the living change to zombies and back again seamlessly. Also several minor characters, soldiers and pirates alike, contribute entertaining moments that keep the plot sailing along in spite of the fact that it's nearly two hours and a half in length. Verbinski does hit a few shoals as he attempts to wrap things up, but all in all his film is the best pirate movie in decades.
The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film: Absolutely.
Would I go to see it again: Sure, this is a far better thrill ride than the one in the amusement park.
© 2003 - Rusty Pipes