Pirates of the Caribbean (Movie Review)

Of course, I went to see Johnny Depp in eyeshadow but there was actually more to the movie than that. Quite a surprise for a movie based on a Disney ride.It was definitely, a fun, actiony, kid okay movie (but I think adults will find it as or more fun). Really fun. And better than I think people realize. The only part that really has to be ignored is the end where our romantic heroes settle down to raise babies - they should go off to become pirates. I have a suspicion that - with something like five writers - the original screenplay may hav e been just that. But 'family values' won over film integrity and we had our young couple settling down with Daddy's approval. That's a much more appropriate moral lesson for all our young viewers out there.The movie was a nice collection of myths - the 'pirate code' the Aztec gold and its curse, the fun to be had on the high seas. It was also a collection of decently researched details. Most of the ship-to-ship combat was realistically handled (minus much of the gore); the chaos of those sorts of things, the slippery confusion of wet wood, tilting decks, guns, swords and cannons all going off at the same time. There's a particular scene where two fighting ships are sailing in opposite directions and only a few feet from each other - firing their side cannon. That was actually a common strategy back then. Those small cannon have a very short range and low accuracy, you had to get real up close and personal when using them. The 'women are bad luck' is a pretty common belief in early ship life and the minor female pirate character was a nice touch - since there were, historically, a few female pirates.One of my friends brought up the unusual realization that - in a pirate movie - there were no villains. Even Barbarossa is a character with complexities and a real reason to do what he's doing. He's not chewing the scenery for no reason. The upright English commander proves to be a decent person in the end and Jack Sparrow is - well - Johnny Depp. How can you not love him?The characterization of Jack Sparrow was excellent, not just becuase it was Johnny Depp. Though our two romantic leads were clearly upright, honorable folks, Sparrow was a pirate and throughout the moive he remained one. There was no 'reforming' the lovable villan; while it was clear that he liked both Tanner and Elizabeth, I never got the impression that he was going to either sacrifice himself or his goal of getting the ship for the sake of that freindship. It was clear that he'd been a pirate and was going to continue robbing, pillaging and raping his black guts out. In addition, Sparrow was the one to voice some of the most mature moral statements in the movie 'The two important things in a person's live are - what they can do and what they can't.' (not an exact quote). In a movie meant for bouncy summer fun; Sparrow's character had some surprisingly complex moments - from his speech on freedom, to his acceptance of being abandoned by his shipmates 'they had to do what's good for themselves, that's all you can ask of a man'. It wasn't that Sparrow's personaliy or philosophy was somehow noble, or heroic but it was very real, very valid in the kind of world he'd chosen.There was also a remarkable lack of death - detailed death, that is. In the mass combat scenes, you have to assume that there was quite a bit of dying going on but it was pretty bloodless. For all the sword fights, there were perhaps only four or five clear murders in the movie. Howver, the lack of gore didn't look forced; it was unrealistic but not blatantly obvious.The plot held together fairly well, though if Sparrow had been abandoned on that deserted island in a mutiny ten years ago - he must have been a captain by the time he was twelve! As well, we did finally determine that if 'Bootstrap' Tanner had given the gold to his son - then he too was suffering under the curse and when he was tossed overboard (as relayed by one of the dead pirates), he wouldn't have died. From the story, he wasn't chained to the cannon but strapped, so he likely (once he realized he wasn't going to drown) got free and may perhaps be still alive. If not, then he died at the end of the movie when his own son threw the last bit of gold into the box. In keeping with a PG-13 movie, I prefer to think that he survived and had a wonderful reunion with his newly married son.All in all, a movie well worth seeing in a matinee or second run theater. The way movie prices are these days, I don't recommend any movie at full price. However, the trailer for 'Haunted Mansion' (the next in the franchise) did not look nearly as promising.i