Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
As a film phenomenom, pirate movies were originally popular back in the 30s and 40s, with classic oldschool swashbucklers like Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power making the genre completely their own, and then it would see a brief revival in the late 70s and early 80s with the success of the (film and stage version of) The Pirates Of Penzance (which ironically convinced people that pirates preferred more to break out into song rather than plunder), so much so that it even spawned its own ZAZ style spoof in The Pirate Movie. Even Roman Polanski got in on the fun with his own version (titled Pirates) that bombed so badly at the box office that it was clear that the genre had died yet again. Until 2003 that is. The Walt Disney Company had long had The Pirates Of The Caribbean ride running at their theme parks without ever having had a clear inspiration for it from any of their cinematic or media properties, and in fact, this film’s script had actually been kicking around since the early 90s, and it wasn’t until Steven Spielberg had shown interest in it that legendary uber Producer Jerry Bruckheimer had grabbed it up instead and put it into overdrive, hiring a relatively inexperienced director in Gore Verbinski and then convincing Disney to throw everything they had from their vast resources into getting it made first class, resulting (obviously) not only in The Greatest Pirate Movie Ever Made but also spawning a franchise that still doesn’t show much sign of slowing down anytime soon, action adventure marvels that suffered in the later entries from being rather overwritten at times but would still bring in the blockbuster goods. Undoubtedly the main reason for all of this was in the casting of Johnny Depp as the series’ central character, Captain Jack Sparrow, and with it, Depp would bring eccentric acting to a whole other level. The fact that Depp managed to actually cop a Best Actor Oscar Nomination stunned all but the most ardent admirers of his performance here in this first movie. Sparrow is not so much the hero here as he is an incredibly lovable rogue that you can’t help but root for, even as one knows that he retains the capabilities of being somebody whom not even the clearly good and decent characters can really trust. First seen riding into port on an obviously stolen sailboat, and then apparently adlibbing his way through the entire movie (with the oft told conceit that he had based the character on Keith Richards, even as Depp insisted that it was NOT an impersonation), the film succeeds at not having much of a plot for a 2 and an half hour running time, but what we do get is a lavish extravaganza from nearly every possible technical perspective, with the evocative opening shots of a desolate ship caught in a fog to the incredible costumes, rousing music, amazing special effects, and superbly well done fight scenes. The story, what there is, involves Sparrow getting involved with the hierarchy of the sleepy little port town that he finds himself in, most notably the beautiful daughter of the town’s ruling Governor (Keira Knightley), the newly promoted Commodore of the local Royal Naval Fleet (Jack Davenport) and the local blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) to whom her heart truly belongs. If anyone, it is Bloom who is the true hero of the film (and initial trilogy) while Depp’s Sparrow serves more as being a delightful wild card for whom anything is possible (and usually is), which allows Depp to play up the eccentric possibilities of the part while always knowing full well that since he is playing, well, a PIRATE, that he is not bound by the civilized behaviors and mannerisms of the more refined characters in the piece and thus can have his way with not only making the role all his own, but by also making it as thoroughly entertaining as possible. Sparrow’s objective is to track down and reclaim his old ship (The Black Pearl) which ten years ago he lost to a mutiny and was then at the time marooned on a deserted island. However, his old crew have since run into a bit of a problem, having plundered a cursed treasure that renders onto its victims who have taken from it a dreadful fate where they become ghostly wraths in the moonlight and are completely immune to knives, swords, and bullets, but they are also unable to eat and enjoy either food, drink, or even women, literally feeling nothing while still being technically alive, which for free spirited, life loving types like these can certainly be thought of as being like Hell on Earth. The leader of this crew (and Sparrow’s former First Mate who had turned against him) is Captain Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush in a gleefully bombastic turn that can be thought of as nearly being equal to Depp’s when it comes to over the top, scenery chewing craziness, if just not for having less screen time than Depp. Barbossa is also as well a pirate’s pirate, but we even get a little bit of pathos from Rush’s performance as we realize that all he really wants is just to break his curse and be able to live freely and feel things again just as Sparrow has been doing all along. However, as great as Depp and Rush are at playing wild and crazy pirates, the same cannot be said for some of the supporting actors who try to bring their own goofy schtick to the table and only wind up making some stale ham and cheese rather than comic gold. But on the story rages, easy to follow and ascertain even as the sequels went off the deep end with way too much plot and intrigue, as well as several battle scenes amongst the ships that look and sound glorious along with the ever increasing question as to whether or not Sparrow can ever truly be trusted. But Depp pulls it off beautifully with little more than a wink and a smile, never losing the viewer’s attention even while Bloom is saddled with the more conventional good guy role and Knightley gets to play the requisite female caught up in all the mayhem whilst trying to make sense of it, even as the film successfully reinforces the notion that the free spirited nature of the original Disney theme park ride is what makes the life of being an actual pirate just so damn appealing, the idea that rules are just something for a conventional society to live by while those who seek their own way can live by any guidelines which they choose, and with a pirate even moreso, since they live with the expressed prior warning that their word is one which is only good for that moment, that their perceived notions of right and wrong are only what they themselves believe them to be, and best of all that they have all the rights and privileges to travel and sail to wherever in the world that they please, provided that they have an attack plan ready in order to take whatever it is that they wish to take. This is notwithstanding the fact that most known, real life pirates from that particular era of history really were legitimately evil, scurvy bastards who greatly enjoyed the tenets of murder and rape along with the stealing aspect of it, but in so far as it goes with the more romanticized, cinematic portrayal of the pirate life as we’ve always known it, this truly goes beyond the realm of perfection in creating a visual feast for the eyes and a rousingly entertaining experience whose success was so profound that both Depp’s Sparrow and Rush’s Barbossa actually managed to find their way onto the ride itself at the Disney theme parks, which in many ways is a tribute to both actors that can never possibly be topped…
9/10