Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) Review

Title: Pirates of the Caribbean
Year: 2003
Director: Gore Verbinski
Country: US
Language: English

There wasn't anything like Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) when it came out. Due to the commercial failure of  Hook (1991) pirate stories had fallen out of favor with Hollywood. Pirates wasn't just a typical pirate action movie however; it was a ghost story mixed with romance and comedy, based on a dark ride that debuted in the 1960's. The movie shouldn't have worked, but it spawned a billion-dollar franchise. 

Blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to save his love, the governor's daughter (Kiera Knightley) , from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.

The film's set design - using practical sets with pirate ships and old timey towns - is visually impressive. The CGI is leaps above nearly every film of the early 2000's. The direction and choreography are remarkable as the many battles and ensuing chaos are very well organized in regards to presentation. 

The writing in Pirates of the Caribbean is underrated. The plot is fairly simple (pirates need coin to remove curse) but its engaging because there are so many well done turns and character arcs. The acting is exceptional. Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow is immortalized as an iconic character. 

While I am unimpressed with Pirates of the Caribbean's sequels, I must admit that this (Curse of the Black Pearl) is an outstanding feature that deserves all the acclaim it gets. It's a very fun movie that I would recommend to anybody.