It’s a testament to the power of Disney and Jerry Bruckhiemer that a film like this was even able to EXIST let alone be a great film. When I initially heard Disney was trying to make a movie out of an amusement park ride (that I’ve been on a few times) I scoffed. The ride was nice but not very thrilling. But boy could this movie not have been more opposite. This thrill ride of a film is what all trilogies should aspire to start out like.
We are introduced to this tale from the viewpoint of a young Ms Swan who sees what appears to be the wreckage of a ship by pirates. From there we are thrust into the lives of the much older Ms Swan (Kiera Knightly) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and meet Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) a pirate without a ship. Things become stranger when Ms Swan’s necklace inadvertently gets her kidnapped by Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) a man looking to reverse the curse placed on him and his crew. Will is then forced to team up with Jack in order to save her.
This movie is such an engaing picture; the action sequences, especially the battles on Ilse de Muerta are fantastic. But what’s so amazing about this film as how they managed to take pieces from the ride such as Tortuga and the sword fights, and create an entirely cinematic experience. This movie would also net Johnny Depp his first Oscar nomination (!), a rarity for the Academy and even rarer recognition for creating a truly original character in Jack Sparow.
Best Scene: Sword fight on Ilse de Muerta