Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl

Release Date: July 9, 2003
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenwriter: Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott, Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Giles New, Angus Barnett, David Bailie, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Kevin McNally, Treva Etienne, Zoe Saldana
Genre: Action, Crime
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for action/adventure violence)
Official Website: Pirates.movies.com

Plot Summary: For the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), the crystalline waters of the Caribbean, like the high seas the world over, present a vast playground where adventure and mystery abound. But Jack’s idyllic life capsizes after his nemesis, the wily Captain Barbossa (Rush), steals his ship, the Black Pearl, and later attacks the town of Port Royal, kidnapping the Governor’s (Pryce) beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Knightley). Elizabeth’s childhood friend, Will Turner (Bloom), joins forces with Jack to commandeer the fastest ship in the British fleet, the HMS Interceptor, in a gallant attempt to rescue her and recapture the Black Pearl. The duo and their motley crew are pursued by Elizabeth's betrothed, the debonair, ambitious Commodore Norrington (Davenport), aboard the HMS Dauntless. Unbeknownst to Will, there is a curse that has doomed Barbossa and his crew to live forever as the undead, where each moonlight, they are transformed into living skeletons. The curse they carry can be broken only if a once-plundered treasure is restored.

Review By John Barker:
- Better than a cheese royale: buy one while its hot

The swashbuckler quite literally buckled under the pressure given Cutthroat Island’s dismal performance at the box office. So it must have taken brave backing by Disney Studio executives to green light this $100 million plus budgeter but their faith has been rewarded with huge box office stateside and repeat business across the globe.....more

Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers © 2003
- Take a pot shot but be warned.

Hollywood screen writers have for years tried to appease their film producers by writing material that sits within already established formulas that work. It’s the sex scene followed by a quiet, but talky, break then followed by something else sexy rule that keeps the machine churning and making money. If audiences stayed away from something that used to made a profit they’d come up with another set formula to risk on the public. "Pirates of the Caribbean" is a well calculated formula that actually works on those that contributed to the pirate $275 million and increasing fund at the box office this year. Underneath all that "Pirates" is a paint-by-the-numbers story-line with a few redeeming features to keep this feeling fresh.....more