PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL – Johnny Depp
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Direction: Gore Verbinski
Screenplay: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio; from an original screen story by Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert
Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg
WHEN KEITH MET ZASU
Pirate films were a popular Hollywood staple for about three decades, from the mid-1920s (The Sea Hawk, The Black Pirate) to the mid-1950s, when the genre, by then relegated to mostly B films, began to die down. Sporadic resurrections in the last two decades have been disastrous (Pirates, Cutthroat Island), something that didn’t bode well for Disney’s "film adaptation" of one of their theme-park rides. However, Neptune and assorted sea gods have apparently been in a better mood of late. They have smiled — grinned would be a more appropriate word — on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, an enjoyable (if a little overlong) romp and one of the biggest box-office hits of 2003.
The flimsy plot follows the young Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), daughter of Governor Swann (Jonathan Pryce) of Port Royal, as she is kidnapped by a band of pirates led by the fearsome Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), a swordsman who is madly in love with Elizabeth — even though she’s been promised to another — sets out to rescue her from the bowls of the Black Pearl, Captain Barbossa’s ship.
Enter an eccentric, fey ship captain, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), whose ship has just sank without a trace. Turns out that Captain Barbossa and Jack are old enemies — and that the evil Captain and his crew are suffering the effects of a horrific curse that has turned them into the undead.
Together, Will and Jack will fight the mean-spirited ghostly pirates in order to save their lady-in-distress from a fate much, but much worse than plain, old-fashioned death.
Several elements helped to transform the cliched, borderline cutesy boy-rescues-girl storyline into — almost — film magic. Director Gore Verbinski, fresh off the commercially successful The Ring, demonstrates that he has the right touch for this sort of mindless entertainment. For even though the magic of Michael Curtiz and William Keighley’s The Adventures of Robin Hood is missing here, Pirates of the Caribbean offers lively swordfights, plunges into deep waters, bits of witty dialogue, awesome special effects, hammy acting, and even a girl-rescues-boy episode that should please the most jaded of filmgoers.
Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, two performers that have a predisposition to overact, are let loose in this one. Surprisingly, they manage to walk on their respective histrionic tightropes, mugging and gesticulating all the way through, without ever falling off. Since Depp and Rush are impersonating larger-than-life characters, their grandiose acting styles — without a hint of self-importance — are made to order.
Depp’s delightfully amoral Jack Sparrow, the long-lost offspring of the Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards and limp-wristed comedienne ZaSu Pitts, is particularly notable. (According to reports, Depp’s inspirations were actually Richards and Pepe LePew.) Never, not even as the aberrantly awful director Ed Wood has the actor created such a beautifully delineated specimen of homo bizarrus, flawless low-class British accent and all.
To boot, Pirates presents the new Tyrone Power, Orlando Bloom, who is as dashing as the star of The Black Swan — and perhaps an even better actor, for gone are the blond hair and the vapid stare that had marred Bloom’s Lord of the Rings performance.
Now, movies with in-depth character development can last longer than two hours. Empty-headed adventure films are meant to last considerably less. With a running time of almost 2 ½ hours, Pirates does overstay its welcome a bit. The film’s editors could have easily excised a good 20 minutes without any significant loss either in continuity or in entertainment. That said, when Depp starts lisping, Rush begins to spit venom, Bloom grabs his sword, and Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer’s rousing music plays at full throttle, all is forgiven. And how many films, whether on land or on water, boasts in its cast a little zombie monkey?
5 Academy Award Nominations
Best Actor: Johnny Depp
Best Visual Effects: John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, Terry D. Frazee
Best Sound Mixing: Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David E. Campbell, Lee Orloff
Best Sound Editing: Christopher Boyes, George Watters II
Best Makeup: Ve Neill, Martin Samuel
Subscribe / Syndicate
Leave a Comment
Tags: Adventures Movies, Film Reviews, Geoffrey Rush, Gore Verbinski, Hans Zimmer, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Oscar 2003, Oscar Movies, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Three-Star Movies, Three-Star Oscar Nominees
Comments
Leave a Reply
NOTE:
All comments are moderated and may take some time before they are posted. Different views and opinions are welcome, but courtesy is imperative. Rude/crass/bigoted comments and name-calling of any sort will be immediately deleted.
Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has no contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog and no information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
