Overview:
“So it’s a movie based on a theme park ride? Well that’s going to suck.” That was my first reaction. Then I saw the trailer and thought “Well, maybe not” but now I’ve seen the movie...

Review:
What a movie it was! I’ve been to Disneyland; well technically I’ve been to Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris). It didn’t have the Pirates of the Caribbean ride then, though there was a pirate boat and some kind of land theme around it. So I can’t tell you how closely the film follows the ride.
It is one hell of a Pirate movie though. It starts with the discovery of a burning merchant ship, the sole survivor being a small boy with a strange medallion. Realizing it’s pirate gold, the little girl aboard hides the medallion. Anyone suspected of being a pirate will have a meeting with the gallows.
Twenty years later the girl is now Keira Knightly. The boy is played by Orlando Bloom. Separated by caste, Will Turner (Bloom) a sword smith’s apprentice, and Miss Elizabeth Swan is prime wedding material. Think Prince and the pauper, but with a woman. Johnny Depp plays Jack Sparrow, a swashbuckling rum soaked pirate (edit: aren’t pirates awesome?) in search of his own chest of treasures while entertaining the audience with hilarious dancing and prancing about. After saving Swan from drowning, Sparrow has a date with the noose for the next morning. See the film and you’ll get it. Eventually in any pirate movie there has to be, you guessed it, Pirates. Something about gold seems to draw pirates, but the necklace Elizabeth has is special. In the middle of the night the “evil pirates” show up to pillage Port Royale and retrieve something they’ve been dying to get their hands on. Ironically, Turner and Sparrow work together (Will hates pirates) to save the day, with a little help from a motley crew of pirates as well.

Acting:
With a list of cast members I’ve mentioned, it’s clear that the acting is worth the price of admission. Johnny Depp is in full swing, playing both the best and worst pirate on the seven seas. (edit: A invigorating take on an awesome archetype) Orlando Bloom excellently wields a sword as the second lead role. Coming off of Lord of the Rings, Bloom’s acting career is bright and full to the brim with potential.
Keira Knightly was quite a surprise for me. Before seeing the movie I thought she had just been a handmaiden in Attack of the Clones, but after looking at the IMDb I’m reminded of her character in The Hole. She makes another great performance here and I’m sure we’ll see her turning up in a lot more leading roles from here out. This being a Disney movie there has to be some sort of comedic relief. The first two are a couple of British soldiers and the other pair are Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook (from the 11 O’clock show for you Brits) who are pirates.
Geoffrey Rush puts together a great performance as Jack’s nemesis, the ruthless Captain Barbosa. This role could easily have been a typical shallow bad guy, but is given a tragic twist. I actually found myself feeling sorry for him after discovering his side of the story. The rest of the cast also turn in great performances and can’t really think of a bad one in the lot. Some that I do have to mention though are the dead pirates themselves. The crew at Industrial Light and Magic has pulled another great one out of the bag. As is to be expected, the pirates all look fantastic, and I’ll definitely be looking into the extra features on the DVD. The skeletons are very Harryhausen-esq (though stop motion could never be this smooth) and I thought it was a great homage, deliberate or not. The rest of the film is stunningly beautiful and if possible I’ll be retiring to that town; a pirates life for me!

Conclusion:
Make sure you go see it this movie. It’s one of the gems in a busy summer, which has featured some good films. Whether Disney’s next ride turned film, Haunted Mansion can continue a trend where ride become film (hey, it worked for comic books) only time will tell. Frankly I doubt it, but if Pirates of the Caribbean is anything to go by I’ll be at every ride based movie they turn out. That’ll be 4 and half gold doubloons. Uh, I mean planets. Yarggh!

MacGyver Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Planets


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