This is a piece I did as an English assignment, a looong time ago. I found it while looking for another file, and I remembered how much fun it was to write.





MOVIE REVIEW FOR
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
A pretty girl. A handsome, brooding boy. A pirate who appears to be drunk at least half of the time. A ancient Aztec curse.

Makings of a flop? Not with Johnny Depp at the helm. Along with Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Jack Davenport, Depp leads (in every sense of the word) the cast of Pirates, one of the most entertaining movies of that summer.

The way Depp trapezes around almost gives you vertigo, although that might just be the residual light headed-ness from laughing at almost everything that comes out of his goateed mouth. While the rest of the cast does their job well (Knightley especially, Bloom questionably), Depp really shines through.

While the movie is long, almost obscenely so, it has comedy, action, romance, and suspense throughout. The story centers around the curse set on the pirates , everyone has a very different view on what to do about it.

William Turner (Bloom), just wants to rescue his true love, Elizabeth Swann(Knightley) from the clutches of the cursed pirates - who think they need her blood to end the curse.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), wants to get his ship back from the pirates that mutinied on him and sailed onward to - unbeknownst to them - the cursed gold.

Captain Barbossa (Rush), the head mutineer and captain of the pirate crew, wants to rid himself of the curse that they have been trying to reverse for the past 10 years.

The problem for Will is that he can only get to Elizabeth through Jack - who is a pirate, the very thing he swears he will never deal with.

Elizabeth has fallen in love with Will and dearly wants to marry him - all she has to do is escape the pirates who want her blood, and even harder, the engagement to Commodore Norrington (Davenport).

Jack knows a secret about Will that could help him get his ship back - but first he needs to "come upon" a ship that can help him get to where Barbossa has laid anchor.

Barbossa needs to lift the curse to regain normal human life - but he needs the last piece of gold and the blood of a former crew member - who happens to be deceased.

All the double crossing, lightening quick deals, and frequent "I thought you were on our side!?" does lose you sometimes, but it all comes together in the end.

The movie is very enjoyable, and it shows that it was thought out. Everything from the score (exquisitely done by Klaus Badlt), cinematography (credit goes to Dariusz Wolski), editing(Stephen Rivkin, Arthur Schmidt, and Craig Wood) and the screenplay ( the amazing Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) is carefully constructed and plays out in a very satisfying manner.

Overall, the movie is going to be a hit. The audience will be drawn in the the big names (Bloom, Rush, Depp, along with Jonathan Pryce who plays Elizabeths father, Governor Swann), and will stay for the complete entertainment that is Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. 8.5/10