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

William Goldman, while describing Hollywood, said that “nobody knows anything”. Films and franchises that are now taken for granted and that, in retrospect, have qualities that made their success obvious, have looked enormously risky at their very origin. An example could be made with Pirates of the Caribbean series and its first instalment The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003 period fantasy adventure directed by Gore Verbinski.

The series has the distinction of being based on the theme ride, introduced in 1967 in Disneyland. The plot begins in 1720 when Weatherby Swann (played by Jonathan Pryce) arrives to Port Royal, Jamaica to take his post as a governor. Eight years later his daughter Elizabeth (played by Keira Knightley) is friend with Will Turner (played by Orlando Bloom), young blacksmith whom her father’s ship had rescued during the journey. Will has been secretly in love with her for eight years, but she is about to marry Captain Norrington (played by Jack Davenport). Before that happens Port Royal is suddenly attacked by seemingly invulnerable pirates led by Barbossa (played by Geoffrey Rush) who abduct Elizabeth. Will wants to free her, so he helps imprisoned pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) escape captivity who, in exchange, volunteers to help him in search for Barbossa. Sparrow has some personal reasons to do so, because Barbosa commands Black Pearl, his old ship, which he had taken after mutiny and left Sparrow on deserted island. In the meantime, it is revealed that Barbosa and his crew are affected by the curse of old Aztec gods because they have stolen ancient gold. To lift the curse, they must return all the gold, including Elisabeth’s medallion.

Pirates of the Caribbean series with its high nine-figure box office grosses represents one of the most impressive money-makers in history of 21st Century Hollywood, but at the very start adaptation of Disney’s theme ride was considered rather risky proposition. Walt Disney Pictures actually wanted to make the film low budget direct-to-video release with Disney CEO Michael Eisner expressing immense scepticism towards the project. This scepticism wasn’t unwarranted. Pirate films used to be popular in Hollywood’s early decades, but later logistical and technical issues with shooting films at sea made them more expensive and exponentially riskier, something that makers of Cutthroat Island, pirate film made eight years earlier, learned the hard way, resulting in the most catastrophic Hollywood flop at the end of 20th Century. There are various reasons why The Curse of the Black Pearl evaded such fate, but it could be attributed to large collection of talents in front of and behind the camera. One of talents to stand out was Jerry Bruckheimmer, producer with decades long record of delivering successful blockbusters. Unlike his previous big hits, often oriented to more adult audience, The Curse of the Black Pearl represented textbook example of family entertainment, quite in line with Disney’s brand of film making. Gore Verbinski, director known for his versatility, was also good choice because he could mix action, romance and comedy very well, with particular emphasis on the latter. While making his film Verbinski drew on the legacy of Hollywood pirate classics, films that had featured adventure cinema icons like Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and, last but not least, Burt Lancaster whose film The Crimson Pirate represented the strongest influence on this film. Composer Klaus Badelt, with the help of Hans Zimmer, also delivered one of the most recognisable film soundtracks in previous few decades.

Great talents gathered for The Curse of the Black Pearl included great cast. Orlando Bloom, star of The Lord of the Rings, was decent in his role, just like Keira Knightley, British actress whose athleticism had been noted before in football comedy Bend It Like Beckham. Geoffrey Rush, one of the most effective character actors of his generation, was very good as villainous Barbossa. But it was Johnny Depp who outshone everyone. An actor whose popularity and stardom had been built mostly on quirky, almost arthouse film, has taken the challenge of a big budget summer blockbuster with gusto. The role of an eccentric semi-comical pirate, famously inspired by mannerisms and look of his friend Keith Richards, represents one of the best examples of Depp’s talent. There are very few people who don’t think that it was Depp who carried this film and, later, the entire franchise, on his shoulders. Captain Jack Sparrow, among other things immortalised by comical tribute song by Lonely Island, became the most iconic and arguably the most successful role of his career. Depp also helped audience to disregard some of the film’s flaws, most notably excessive length and some of the action scenes that went longer than they should have. In the end, the Disney’s gamble paid off and Pirates of the Caribbean became a massive hit that would build that studio’s hegemony over Hollywood. Unlike many summer blockbusters, in this particular case, such success was well-deserved.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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