If you told me that a movie solely based on an amusement ride where you floated down a lazy river seeing wax muppets move around asking for more rum and a coin would create a rich compelling story, pawn one of the most iconic characters in cinema history, and manage to make a successful franchise making millions of dollars? I’d probably tell you you’re crazy and then hop on my imaginary unicorn and fly away. But to my amusement it did happen and I’m glad it did. Because not only did it give me a great time, but it’s one of my top favorite movies. So chuck the rum out and let’s talk about “Pirates of the Caribbean and the Curse of the Black Pearl.” 

The movie begins with the legend himself Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), a wily and scandalous pirate on the search for a ship to captain. Only for his plans to be cut short when he goes to save the governor’s daughter from drowning, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and getting into a sword fight with Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) that ends up getting him knocked out and placing him in jail. 

Now with Jack Sparrow in jail, the harbor is attacked by the Black Pearl. An legendary descilate ship with an undead crew, captained by Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush). Who came to the harbor looking for the medallion that Elizabeth has. So they can break their curse of a cursed Aztec treasure that they all stole from that then made them undead in the first place. Requiring them to gather all the treasure in the hopes of curing themselves; and the medallion is the last piece. Not exactly sure how they were able to find every last piece. Unless the curse gave them some kind of wifi connection to the treasure. In that case, What a broken curse this is.

Anyway, Will is desperate to save Elizabeth and asks Jack to help find her. And he agrees under the condition that he works under him. Jack then assembles a crew and travels to the cave of the treasure, where he betrays Will to save , who leaves Jack. Now the Black Pearl gives chase to Will and a fight breaks out, destroying the heroes’ ship. This is when it’s revealed that Will is related to Bootstrap, the first pirate to take from the chest, and only his blood can seal the spell. In exchange for Elizabeth’s safety, he trades himself over only for him to get scammed and leaves Elizabeth and Jack on a stranded island.

However, it’s not too long till they’re rescued by James Norrington and the governor, who then take the way to the secret cave. A final fight breaks out with Jack, Will and Captain Barbossa. In the end Will breaks the curse with his blood. Causing Barbossa to die and all of his crew to be captured. Then Jack escapes a death sentence with the help of Will and he finally becomes the captain of the Black Pearl. And that’s it, that’s the movie for you. 

Truly no one expected this movie to be this great. But thanks to some luck and black magic, this movie turned out to be one of a kind. Probably the biggest compliment to this movie is the main character Jack Sparrow. There’s no question why he’s such a classic character. His constant carefree and drunkish attitude manages to really open the scenes when things become too serious, from his constant cowardness and reluctance to do anything other people want. One of the reasons he’s so likable in my opinion is he manages to get into situations that seem impossible. But somehow with luck, improvisation and his resourcefulness he’s able to escape and prevail. 

And really it’s all thanks to Johnny Depp whose performance is just extraordinary. It’s a shame that he will never come to the big screen again after the whole Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp civil trial. Depp Went on the record to say, “Even if Disney came to me with 300 million dollars and a million alpacas, I would still never go back and work with Disney.” I honestly can’t blame him after what Disney did and cut all ties with him.

Likewise, the world building of the Pirates of the Caribbean is a phenomenon. Every single shot or background is brimming with personality, especially with the beaches of the jungle island of Dominica (which is where the film was shot) and Port Royale with its run down and homey vibe. This is alongside the set pieces of the ships that really showed the authenticity of sailing across the sea, getting into battles and forgetting water exists and only intaking rum. Man, do I want to be a pirate! The point is the world building is filled with life and every new location feels new and extravagant while still being grounded. Moreover, it makes you wanna become a pirate. 

In addition to that, the movie has such a whimsical absurdity making serious moments more interesting while still keeping everything grounded and intense. Take any sword fight for example, how every fight scene is filled with absurdity and character, like the sword fight between Will Turner and Captain Jack Sparrow. In that scene, Will and Jack take turns exploiting each other’s flaws and showing their various strengths, With Will being the serious and grounded sword fighter and Jack being reckless and spontaneous. This results in some funny and really interesting moments with both characters getting the upper hand on each other one way or another, even both having some banter with each other to make the fight even more fun. This also really goes well with the characters in this movie that are all incredible, having so many different layers and depth to them. With Will throwing a sword at the door stopping Jack from leaving. Showing his inexperience but willing to do what is right. And Jack uses his experiences and resources around him and quick thinking to use his environment against him. 

To me, “Pirates of the Caribbean” is a classic. Not only is it known by many but it has such a great undertone that you can’t help but like it. The cinematic importance of this film introduces some major archetypal concepts, like the Captain Jack Sparrow and the classic runaway love duo being Will and Elizabeth.  It’s also one of the most famous pirate films of all time. Whenever you think of a pirate movie, people will immediately connect that to “Pirates of Caribbean”: in my opinion, the best out of all five of the movies. There simply is no other pirate movie that matches up to its whimsical world and characters, and the amount of times this movie has been referenced and inspired by other movies is uncanny. It’s to the point where I couldn’t possibly name them all. 

In short, Pirates of the Caribbean is amazing by all definitions and deserves its place under the classic banner of approval.