I get to the cinema less often these days (mainly due to working nights), but my good friends John and Laurie seem determined to let me borrow a large proportion of their DVD library. This week, I’ve watched “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and I was most entertained.
Essentially, it’s a swashbuckling epic which harks back to an earlier era of film-making (although one without CGI graphics). The film itself is set in the 18th century (and therefore towards the end of the Pirate era), around Port Royal, and as you would expect, the scenery and backdrops are magnificent.
This is obviously a high-budget film, with big production values (directed by Gore Verbinsky, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer). It doesn’t seem overblown, but that is perhaps because I’m in the target-market of viewers, being reminded of piratical adventures I used to watched aged 7 – 9 (incidentally, too young to view this 12-certificate film).
I believe Johnny Depp was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, the erstwhile Captain of “the Black Pearl”, and I can certainly see why. I’ve admired his versatility as an actor for many years (and am reminded of a review of Benny & Joon which speculated what Chaplin would have been like with Johnny Depp rather than Robert Downey Jr in the lead role).
Geoffrey Rush was well cast as Barbossa, the leader of the cursed pirates, and his make up was so convincing, that it wasn’t until I watched the additional features, that the penny dropped, and I realised that I’d enjoyed his roles as Walsingham in Elizabeth and David Helfgott in Shine
Swordplay was suitably epic; sets were large; explosions were fiery. Overall, a very enjoyable film I shall return to.
I got it for christmas. 9/10 for sheer entertainment. It looses 1 point for the dire last 5 minutes. Another gripe of mine is that so many really good films just catch the toe edge and fall ungracefully at the last, just to bring the film to a close. The Bourne Identity being another one.