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Dan Heller's Movie Review of "Pirates of the Caribbean" |
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Ahoy Maties! Grab your swords and board the dreaded pirate ship, the
Black Pearl, and sail back in time to when you were a kid at Disneyland,
going through the boat ride, "Pirates of the Caribbean." Whatever your
imagination could have conjured up, it couldn't possibly compare to
the wonderment, fun and childhood excitement that the live-action film
delivers today. This is, in many ways, the perfect film, because it
not only does exactly what it intends, but it does so without a hint of
corniness, overdone computer graphics, sappy dialog, or boring plot line.
Sure, the movie is just for fun, and you can enjoy it for what it is
if you go into the theater with the same sense of fun that you'd have
going into the ride at Disney parks. In fact, just about every scene
from the robotic namesake ride (that's over 30 years old) is featured
conspicuously in the film, causing giggles of nostalgia from the audience.
The plot is classic fairy tale formula for a Swashbucklin' Pirate
story that involves pirates, fair maidens, a hero to save her, royalty,
and an intricate intertwining of relationships that make things oh so
juicy. Here, Johnny Depp leads the pack as Jack Sparrow, a lone pirate
on the Caribbean Sea, looking for his lost ship, the Black Pearl. It'd
been commandeered years earlier by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush)
who'd lead a mutiny against him. For Sparrow to get his ship back, he
must commandeer one of his own, so he picks one from the Royal British
Navy. But first, he must cross swords with a young sword maker, Will
Turner, played by Orlando Bloom.
In the meantime, Barbossa has his own agenda: to break a curse set upon
the crew after they stole ancient Aztec gold artifacts. To do this,
they must return the gold, plus spill the blood from a descendant of the
original captain of the Black Pearl that pirated the loot in the first
place. Through misidentification, they capture Elizabeth Swann, played by
Keira Knightley, who is subsequently kidnapped. In a particularly revealing
scene, Geoffrey Rush delivers a brilliant monologue about his plight as
a cursed pirate.
At this point, Turner and Sparrow set out as partners to find the Black
Pearl: Turner wants to save the girl, and Sparrow wants to get his ship
back. Over the course of the film, as secrets are revealed and events
unfold, the tension and action builds to a rewarding and pleasingly
climactic ending.
Essentially, the movie has it all: cartoony sword-fighting, skeletons
drinking rum, dream-like scenery that captures the spirit of the dark,
imaginary world of pirates swinging between ships, ladies having to walk
the plank, and valiant heroes saving them. With the youthful target
audience in mind, a more cynical viewer looking for a more intense
or less "comedic" tone might be disappointed; similarly, an overly
protective parent might be concerned for their youngsters' fear factor
at some special effects, but these are all phantom concerns. "Pirates
of the Caribbean" as a great mid-summer hit that's sure to please the
whole family.
You can find this movie on the internet database here:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0325980
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