Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Film Review

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

Directed by: Gore Verbinski

Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin McNally, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley

Genre: Action

With a compass that doesn’t point north and a taste for revenge, Johnny Depp takes us through a pirate’s life of humor and emotion in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. This film takes you on a journey like no other. With incredible soundtrack and impeccable acting, Pirates of the Caribbean immerses you into the world of a real pirate. 

This tale of cannon ball fights and gold seeking vengeance takes place in early England. The blacksmith William Turner is hopelessly in love with the governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth hopes to be more than a commodore’s wife, and William hope’s to marry her. Jack Sparrow, a young pirate, comes to Port Royal in search of a new ship after captain Barbossa has wrongfully taken his and marooned him to an unknown island. When Elizabeth is captured by Barbossa and held hostage on the Black Pearl, William and Jack seek out to rescue her. Along the way, the truth behind her kidnapping comes out, and horrific secrets are revealed.

One interesting aspect of this film is the lack of a real “hero.” William Turner and Elizabeth Swann perform heroic acts, but are no hero’s. What William wants is Elizabeth, and what Elizabeth wants is just to be something more. Jack sparrow is quite far from anything heroic. Because of this, the plot focuses on, in at least one way, villainous characters. What makes this interesting is the fact that we sympathize with the villain, and even root them on. These characters were created with bad intentions in their hearts, yet they are relatable in one aspect or another. This is what makes us cheer them on. No one is in favor of Norrington winning, even though he has the right intentions. We root against him because he is trying to harm our favorite villain Jack Sparrow. Through the storyline and adventures we see take place, we forget who is truly “good” and what real heroism looks like. 

This film was truly incredible. The unique chemistry between each character was mesmerizing. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and William Turner (Orlando Bloom) had an unspoken friendship between them throughout the entire film, even when fighting.  This friendship really showed to be true during the cave scene when Jack Sparrow stole one of the Aztec gold pieces, and William immediately knew his plan just through eye contact and facial ticks. Johnny Depp’s mannerisms fit his character perfectly. He was a carefree pirate who, although it did not always seem like it, had his wits about him. Johnny Depp managed to take a topic that may not be so friendly and turn it into a humorous and real character, all without loosing the spirit of a true pirate. Using the score and cinematography, this film places you in dangerous settings, making you feel every emotion and moment as the characters do. One of the factors that make this movie such a memorable one is the humor. Captain Jack Sparrow did not care much for many people, and did not play by anyone’s rules except his own. Most of what he said was either shocking or rude. Johnny Depp, however, used this dialogue in a way that was not too harsh to keep this Disney film a pg-13 one. Verbinki made careful choices as to not show too much gore in order to keep the child-friendly feel of the film. What really struck me were the science fiction elements thrown into this movie. With curses and old ghosts stories, it seems almost impossible to make a pirate film without science fiction. This film, however, implemented these pieces very seamlessly. The animation created looked especially authentic to the set design and diegetic world created of this film. These implications of science fiction did not completely take over the plot or even genre of the film. It was placed in this action film rather than in charge of it. 

The camera movement, shots, and angles all tell the story along with the acting and the set. There are many establishing shot and tracking shots. The big gestures of movements over the ocean or watching a ship sail in from far away turns a small area of filming into an entire world. The ocean is a vastly large place, and showing all of that space without getting too far away from the actors or the action is a difficult job. This film, however, never struggled with that. The acting, action, fear, power, and love were all shown through camera movements and angles. Every element of this film came together to create the incredible, unforgettable story of the Pirates of the Caribbean.