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My friend Garth and I often argue about the merits of various summer blockbusters. Garth thinks I'm too hard on the big-budget, special-effect-laden vehicles. "Lighten up," he chides. "They're just popcorn movies." And it's true that I give far more negative reviews in the summer months (Hollywood Homicide, Charlie's Angels 2) than positive ones. My response is that blockbusters aren't inherently stupid--that if studios and directors weren't so contemptuous of their audiences, summer movies could be both smart and entertaining. Last year's Spiderman and Signs, along with the Spy Kids franchise, are perfect examples. And for this summer, I offer Pirates of the Caribbean, a glorious adventure tale that will delight teens and adults alike.

It's been a while since we had a pirate movie, and suddenly we have two. But while the animated Sinbad is obviously pitched to children, Pirates of the Caribbean is a more grown-up affair. Johnny Depp stars as Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate without a ship. He's come to a small island in the hope of stealing a vessel and recreating his glory days. There he happens to save the beautiful Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from a watery grave. For his troubles, he's condemned to hang. Apparently, one good deed doesn't cover over a multitude of bad ones, even if he did save the governor's daughter. But while he sits in jail, a group of pirates attacks the town, searching for a rare pirate medallion that Elizabeth coincidentally has in her keeping. She's captured and taken to who-knows-where. Her love-struck admirer, Will Turner, is determined to find and save her. But the only person who can help him is stuck in jail, awaiting his execution. So Will springs Jack from jail, and the two set out to retrieve Elizabeth and maybe a pirate ship, to boot.

There are many wonderful reasons to see Pirates of the Caribbean, but the best is Johnny Depp's hilarious performance as Jack Sparrow. Our first glimpse of him is standing atop the mast of his boat. He stands tall, but his boat is small, and the juxtaposition induces giggles. But it gets better. As his ship comes into port, we realize that it's slowly sinking. By the time Sparrow reaches the pier, he steps off the mast directly onto
the dock. The rest of his boat is under water. It's a glorious sight gag, and Depp plays it with exactly the right air of injured dignity. Later on, he engages in a swashbuckling duel with Will Turner, and Depp's split-second facial reactions add a great comic touch to an exhilarating sword fight. The best scene of all, though, occurs when he and Elizabeth are stranded on a deserted island. For him, this is no big deal, as there's plenty of rum buried in the sand. For Elizabeth, it's a different story, so she sets the rum on fire to attract passing ships. Again, Depp's reaction is priceless.

The rest of the cast provides a nice mix of heroes and villains. I always enjoy Geoffrey Rush (Shine), and his turn here as the traitorous pirate Barbossa is especially witty. Rush takes it to the edge of camp and then
pulls back. In that sense, he plays it just like Depp does. The third star actor, Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings), has a harder role as the earnest Will Turner. Always playing the straight man, he rarely gets the chance to shine. Even with that qualification, however, he is underwhelming. That probably won't matter to his legion of young fans, though. Expect swooning galore.

Keira Knightley, fresh off her breakthrough role in Bend It Like Beckham, brings charisma and more to her portrayal of Elizabeth. All the apologists for the "girl power" in Charlie's Angels 2 should take a look at Knightley in Pirates to see what a strong female character can do. Though she's never less than feminine, she also consistently stands up to the various men in her life, and she doesn't have to take off her clothes to do it. So often, the damsel in a pirate film is mere window dressing. With Knightley, the damsel becomes a full-fledged character.

Gore Verbinski (The Mexican, Mousetrap) isn't on anyone's list of favorite directors, but he acquits himself nicely with Pirates. The pacing is strong, never boring its audience but rarely pushing the film too hard,
either. The twists and turns of the plot produce real and welcome surprises. Part of this is due to the fine script by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Their dialogue is full of clever one-liners, brilliant flashback storytelling, and a delightful mix of romance, adventure, and humor. In one scene, Jack is confronted by a British commodore who remarks, "You are the worst pirate I have ever heard of!" Jack retorts, "Ah, but you have heard of me." The special effects are powerful without ever overwhelming the story. When some of the pirates turn into skeletons, their sword fight is brilliantly innovative and somewhat intense. Parents of younger children may want to see it first before taking children along. The production design and art direction, courtesy of Brian Morris and Richard Earl, is lush and detailed.

When I first heard the Disney was hoping to turn some of their theme park rides into movies, I was aghast. Have we really been forced to scrape that part of the barrel, I wondered. But if all of the movies turn out like
Pirates, I say let's have more of those. And if Disney wants to make a sequel to this one, as appears obvious from both the title and the conclusion, well I won't complain about that.

J. Robert Parks 7/13/2003