starring JOHNNY DEPP, ORLANDO BLOOM, KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, GEOFFREY RUSH.
Imagine the spellbinding magic of 'Hook' ignited by the spectacular extravagance of 'Cutthroat Island,' and you'll still be desert islands off the scale of 'Pirates of The Caribbean.' Make no mistake: this is a huge movie� and a certain, ever-versatile-in-his-ways Johnny Depp is the true star, as cowardly hero Jack Sparrow.
Sparrow is a pirate, but possibly 'the worst pirate ever.' He used to crew a legendary ship called the 'Black Pearl' until he stumbled on the hefty treasures of Cortez and his crew gave into greedy temptation to regrettably become cursed in the process. Sparrow, on the otherhand, escaped being cursed� but he soon gets itchy feet and feels like setting out in search of the treasure once more upon hooking up with the noble Orlando Bloom, the English stud who made his name in the Lord of The Rings' movies and who is to be seen in the forthcoming 'Ned Kelly.'
The heroine in Keira Knightley (who stunned everyone who saw her first major movie starring role in 'Bend It Like Beckham,' before she appeared in ITV's lavish 'Dr Zhivago' re-make) is also of British stock, and she has to be the most beautiful woman in movies. Yep, even sexier than mega-babe Cameron Diaz.
With action-adventure movie veteran Jerry Bruckheimer in on 'Pirates' as one of the producers, the scale of this movie is stunning. While 'Cutthroat Island' paved the way with its full-size replica pirate ships, this movie does the same but goes one better with CGI-aided sequences that bring the cursed pirates of the ghost ship, the Black Pearl, to skeletal half-life in the eerie moonlight.
While 'Cutthroat�' was a massive commercial flop despite being a visual treat, one of the reasons why 'Pirates' has been such a huge hit comes down to the genius comic creation that be Jack Sparrow, a loveable character that the other movie essentially lacked to its misfortune. And sure enough, Depp camps up the character to such a degree that Eddie Izzard would have trouble topping such a perfect and hilarious performance.
The immense action set-pieces are intense and the light-hearted zest in every Sparrow-blessed scene is as free-flowing as the rum he drinks and the piss he bottles. Compared to the rest of Summer 2003's action blockbusters (i.e., 'Tomb Raider 2' and 'Terminator 3'), this is the truest of 'movie experiences.'
What's more, if you haven't had the chance to see this beauty of a movie at the cinema, fear not� the black market is literally flooded with pirates of '� The Caribbean.'
But remember: turning to pirates could seriously jeopardize future film production�
10 out of 5� it really is that good (STEVE RUDD)