Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Director:  Gore Verbinski
Story: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert
Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Music: Klaus Badelt
Time: 135 minutes
Bottom-line: Not quite a popcorn film, but terrific entertainment

The film that began one of the most popular film series of all time, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is the first installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. Johnny Depp stars as the Captain Jack Sparrow, and his performance earned him an Academy Award nomination. Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Keira Knightley play the supporting roles. It is not quite a popcorn film, but worth a watch.

Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

A 12-year-old girl, Elizabeth, in a ship, makes friends with another small boy, William, who has just been saved from the sea. She notices he has a pirate chain, and hides it, lest he be killed by her father. Eight years later, Elizabeth (Knightley) is proposed to by a Commodore, but she faints and falls into the sea before she can answer. She is saved by Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), but she is wearing the pirate chain, which sends a pulse to the ship The Black Pearl. As Sparrow is a pirate, he is sentenced to death. But that night, the immortal crew of The Black Pearl comes alive because of the chain, and they capture Elizabeth. To retrieve her, her lover, William (Bloom) releases Sparrow in return for taking him to the ship. What follows are fights and lots of action, and of course, the final clash between Sparrow and the captain of The Black Pearl, Captain Barbossa (Rush).

Bloom as William Turner

Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow, which may not be his greatest role, but arguably his most famous one. The character’s comic timing and expressions, behaviour, hilarious dialogues, attitude, and of course, Depp’s splendid acting make this character one of the most iconic ones of this century so far. Geoffrey Rush plays a convincing villain, and his acting was also superb. Orlando Bloom’s acting was not that good in the beginning, but got better as the film progressed. I didn’t like Knightley’s acting... I felt she could have done better. The dialogues in the film are quite funny, and there are a number of catch phrases. My favourite one is in the beginning, when Commodore says, “You are without doubt the worst pirate I have ever heard of,” and Sparrow replies, “But you have heard of me.”

Rush as Captain Barbossa

The score by Klaus Badelt is brilliant, be it the Pirates of the Caribbean theme or the score in other places during the film. There is always something ‘pirate’ish about it. It deserved an Oscar nomination, in my view. The visual effects are excellent too. The crew of The Black Pearl are immortal i.e. their true skeletal forms are exposed under moonlight. The effects used to show these scenes are good, but are also sick and disgusting at times. The period settings, costumes and the production design are great, as is the cinematography. In technical aspects, the film is almost flawless.

Knightley as Elizabeth

This film was extremely successful in reviving the ‘pirate’ genre in films. But the story is sort of boring to start with, before Depp enters. He is the main driving force, with Rush giving good support as well. But the actual story wasn’t that great... somehow I didn’t like it. But the dialogues were humorous, and the way the characters spoke the lines added to the effect. However, there are few scenes in the film I liked. The scene where Sparrow is caught by Commodore, the one Sparrow and William duel, the scene where the two ships attack each other, the final fight between Sparrow and Barbossa are few of the best scenes in the film. Also, there is a two-minute scene after the closing credits; make sure you watch that!

To sum up, Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl excels in special effects, cinematography and the score. Depp and Rush have done a magnificent job in acting, while Knightley hasn’t done that well. Watch the film for the entertainment it gives, but I warn you, it does get a bit gory at times. Among the four films of the series, this one is the best.

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 79%