First let me say that I'm kind of annoyed about the title because the Black Pearl itself is not cursed, the crew are. And the crew are cursed because of the curse of the Aztec gold. So the film should be subtitled something else. Anyway moving on.
Several key film industry analysists expected "Curse of the Black Pearl" to be a monumental failure, the pirate genre was dead; with the most recent attempt to revive it "Cutthroat Island" being a massive flop. Secondly it was based upon a theme park ride at Disney which hardly seems to be the best source for inspiration. Furthermore the producers had hired Johnny Depp to be the leading man, granted Depp had cult status but he wasn't one to work within the studio system: his choices of expression for Captain Jack Sparrow's movements and speech confused studio executives, leaving them wondering whether he was playing the character drunk or gay.
Thankfully Jerry Bruckhiemer insisted to Michael Eisner to keep Depp on for if he hadn't the world would have never seen Captain Jack Sparrow in all of his madcap glory, PotC would have not been the success it has been, Disney wouldn't have made a billion dollars (twice) and something else would have been the most popular Halloween costume of 2006.
Depp, channelling Bugs Bunny and Keith Richards creates arguably the most iconic character of the noughties, a man that rolls into port like a hurricane, creating mischief wherever he goes, a man that runs from fights, uses his wits and intelligence to outsmart his enemies - turning them against each other. Depp's perfomance as Sparrow is likely to be the one he is remembered for many years from now, even when the films dated: when the action looks cheesy and the CGI looks rubbish, you'll still be able to watch and admire the eccentric Captain Jack.
Now that isn't to say that all the praise deserves to go to Depp, Geoffrey Rush is on fine form as the villainous Barbossa, Rush, channelling Captain Hook, snarls his words and cackles his way through the swordplay to great effect. Jack Davenport's Commodore Norrington is superb in his display of restriant, a man of duty, that respects heirarchy and will not allow piracy. Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom provide the romance as Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, the two actors form a greater whole - they are both at their best when sharing the screen together.
The supporting players are just enjoyable, Kevin McNally's Gibbs hilariously turns Jack into a myth, Johnathon Pryce's Governor Swann is pompous and great in a wig while Mackenzie Crook's Ragetti and Lee Arenberg's Pintel banter back and forth throughout.
The score must also be given credit, the main theme is now surely as iconic as Sparrow himself, joining the legion of memorable scores such as Indiana Jones, the Imperial March, The Great Escape and the 60's Batman.
The CGI is too is also admirable, a trend which would be followed in its sequels with the impressive work on Davy Jones, the standout scene being when Jack stumbles back into the moonlight, turning himself into a skeleton; the effect is eerie and creepy while still retaining the unique feel that Depp imbues Sparrow with. The CG work is detailed but not the main draw unlike blockbusters nowadays (Transformers) it understatedly adds to the experience.
However despite all this praise this is not to say PotC:CotBP is a perfect film, its too long for its running time, with its formula being a bit too repetitive - scenes with lots of exposition followed by a swordfight, repeat. Additionally Jack is favoured a bit too much over all the other (great) characters and the fight scenes often look silly at times (notice at the end when Jack and Will pull a rope on three guards that are stood together even though they are merely several feet away from them and wouldn't be so close together).
A bit of bumnumbness aside though PotC:CotBP is (rather fittingly) a rollercoaster of a ride from start to finish
4.5
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