Directed by Gore Verbinski
Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightly, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, and a monkey.
Released in 2003

Yo ho yo ho a pirate’s life for me
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.
(X. Atencio and George Bruns)

I’m late, I know, it’s inexcusable and I do apologize. Enough groveling and on with the pirates.

I have to admit this is the movie in which I decided whether or not Orlando Bloom was an unobtainable crush worth or not. Yeah, he was cute in Lord of the Rings, but the blond hair just didn’t do it for me. The man is much, much better looking as a brunette. Then again, most of the unobtainable crushes are.

Which would bring me to item two, Johnny Depp. Oh dear gods the man was a hoot in this film. Having based his Jack Sparrow character off the mannerisms and style of Keith Richards he turned the character into a silver screen legend.

The banter between Will Turner and Jack Sparrow is the heart of the film I think. The eunuch lines that Depp improvised to insult Turner are some of the funniest in the film. Add in the escapades of young Elizabeth Swann and you have the makings of a masterpiece. Is it any wonder Disney has been able to achieve three successful films from this franchise so far.

Cursed gold calls to cursed pirates and the call of Elisabeth Swann’s (Knightly) necklace brings Barbossa (Rush) and the Black Pearl into the town of Port Royal to reclaim the cursed piece. When he and his crew take Elizabeth along for the ride, William Turner (Bloom) must defy both Commodore Norrington (Davenport) and Governor Swann (Pryce), and team up with the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), to rescue her.

The plot is brilliant and just a lot of run with smaller roles like Gibbs, Pintel and Ragetti that simply endear themselves to you for the duration of the film. Jack, the monkey, is a delightful addition to the cast and one you need to watch closely just to see what he’s up to.

However, as good as the movie is and as desperate as you are to turn off the credits, don’t. Or you’ll miss the goodie at the very end.

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