| |
|
A Mom's Review
|
See what Mom thinks of the movies that are out now.
|
What's 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Articles
|
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl |
moviecritic writes, "Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley, `Bend It Like Beckham') is a privileged youth who long ago came across a golden necklace that wasn't meant for her. When the pirates of the ship `The Black Pearl,' lead by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), come back to retrieve their long-sought-after property, Elizabeth is kidnapped and the curse of the pirates is revealed: that they are no longer able to enjoy their pillaging lifestyle and are cursed forever to be undead bandits who turn into skeletons when the moonlight shines upon them. Elizabeth's only hope for rescue is her true love Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), who turns to a deceitful, sneaky, and slightly wacky rogue pirate named Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) for help. Sparrow, the mutinied former captain of the `Black Pearl,' is ready for revenge, and leads Will into battle with the demonic pirates to save Elizabeth and prevent the pirates from breaking their curse.
Click to read more...."
|
The only real competition `Pirates' has is Renny Harlin's other big-budgeted pirate opus, the woefully undervalued and misunderstood 1995 film `Cutthroat Island,' which pretty much drove a sword into the whole pirate genre, as well as sinking a high profile production company, making `Pirates' such a huge creative gamble. Even in the face of such recent history, director Gore Verbinski takes on the burden of making a tempestuous genre work suitably again. Admittedly, I didn't think Verbinski had it in him. With his atrocious comedy `The Mexican,' and a deeply tiresome `Ring' remake, he's not a director that inspires much confidence. However, with `Pirates,' Verbinski makes more victorious visual choices, delighting in high adventure, along with the seaside and underwater locales. All that combined with a painfully good looking cast, shapes a film that takes great relish in its purpose: delivering pirate fun. There is an inherent beauty to gigantic ships blasting away at each other with cannonballs, general swashbuckling, pirates swinging on ropes from ship to ship, and sniveling English officers who can't do a darn thing about it. Verbinski exploits the genre's chestnuts for all their worth, making Uncle Walt proud with his tight control over the action and pirate happenings. The film is a bit long in the tooth (140 minutes), and the narrative in the intervals between the sword fights can get a little sludgy, but when Verbinski finds himself back in action or staging around the grand production designs, he's much more secure, showing chops I never knew (or wanted to believe) he had.
Verbinski also takes delight in the skeleton pirate sequences. While exclusively CG, the sequences are a terrific nod to the Ray Harryhausen years of effects, as well as providing the film with a macabre angle to the story that's hard to resist.
In keeping with the spirit of the theme park ride, nothing in `Pirates' is all that serious. There is a constant jocular tone to the picture that keeps it from being taken too severely. Thankfully, this comedic tone shies away from camp, but the script by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot is never funny when it struggles to be. The jokes presented fall flat at every turn (what do you expect from the writers of `Shrek?`), making one wish for a sharper rewrite, or outright deletion of the humor. Neither occurs in the film's running time, making for painful grimaces when the film chooses to turn on the comedy.
Even when the drama and the jokes have a tendency to disappoint, Johnny Depp and his predominantly weird performance as pirate Jack Sparrow keep things afloat. A wizard at acting craftsmanship, Depp brings excitement to `Pirates' when leads Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley come off as a bit too vanilla. But, then again, they would, standing next to Depp's randy, swaggering creation. Sparrow is a hoot of a character, and Depp's scenes are the film's highlights. Even more fun is when Depp acts alongside Geoffrey Rush, who seems to dig his pirate incarnation just as much. The two eat the screen up as the mangy duo, and infuse the film with their refreshing and loyal takes on archetypal roles.
`Pirates of the Caribbean' isn't weighed down by the scope of its gigantic production values; it remains a exuberant adventure, even when the script appears as if it's been written in opposition to that. Grab your eye patch, sword, and bottle of rum and have a blast in the water again.
Author: the unemployed movie critic
|
Posted on Jul 30, 2003 17:02pm.
(Return)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Add Your Article or Letter
|
 You must be logged in to use this feature. If you haven't done so please Register or Login.
Once you have logged in you will see a User Control Panel with icons for the various activities you are allowed as a User.
Click on the Articles icon and choose the category you would like. Once submitted, your article will be reviewed by the Administrator before being posted. We do not censor opinion, we just don't want any bad words... You know which ones.
|
|
Parenting Resources
|
Online Parenting Sites and Resources
|
|
|
