Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow (Johhny Depp) strikes a bargain with a local blacksmith, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) in order to save the governor's daughter Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley). Swan has been captured by the crew of the Black Pearl led by the fearsome Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) as they believe she is essential in their efforts to lift a curse. Sparow and Turner commandeer a ship and find a crew in order to catch the Black Pearl. Turner is intent on saving Swan and confessing his love, Barbossa is trying to rid himself and his crew of a mysterious curse and Sparrow is simply making it us as he goes.
The Pirates of the Caribbean movies were inspired by a ride, yet director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer ignited anew found love for pirates around the world and created one of the highest grossing sagas of all time, which is still continuing. The original film set up what was a trilogy of movies. Part of the films success comes from the vision behind the storytelling. The films had a set plan with characters and elements included that were essential to later plot revelations (Will Turner's dad). The film has great character development none better than that of Captain Jack Sparrow including why his gun has only one bullet, why his compass doesn't point North and why he doesn't have a ship.
The film is simply fun, the audience is sucked into the story with humour, sword fighting action, breathtaking locations, entertaining scenarios, revealing twists and of course the iconic character of Sparrow. The appearance of Captain Jack Sparrow has to be one of the best entries of a main character I have seen as he gracefully glides into port on his steadily sinking ship to the orchestral score by Hans Zimmer. Depp creates probably his most iconic performance as he stumbles around screen searching for a vessel or some rum blending brilliance with madness.
The rest of the casting choices prove very successful with memorable villains, heroes and imbeciles on both sides of the law. Bloom is for all accounts a somewhat mediocre actor however he has made a name for himself by appearing in two very successful trilogies (Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings) where he has played much beloved characters. Knightley is one of the few females in the film, luckily she has enough nerve to look after herself. Rush is excellent as the wicked Captain Barbossa, a character such as Sparrow needs someone with equal wit and dishonour to compete against and Rush provides just that.
The dark twist to the film that is the curse is revealed with realistic effects. As a result of stealing Aztec gold the crew of the Black Pearl are destined to a life of misery where they are unable to die yet unable to experience the pleasures of living such as food. The curse is visible in moonlight which was most effectively portrayed when the crew of the Black Pearl march underwater to seize the naval fleet. The addition of the curse ensures the film is more than just a fun adventure story with pirates.
The film like its subject of pirates has become part of pop culture. Now at every dress up party there is a Jack Sparrow decked out with his compass, gun, hat, eye makeup and unique crop of hair. The success of this film could come from a range of aspects; the characters, story, score or even the subject matter, however the ultimate success for this film stems from one very important element, the film is entertaining. And really who doesn't love a good old fashioned pirates film.
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