Originally posted by DeputyDave
OK, lets name all of the Disneyland ride references in the movie:
1) Prisoners trying to get the dog to bring them the keys to the cell.



3. Pigs

4. Pirates chasing the women through the streets

Well. wow! I can't believe how refreshing this movie was. I initially thought "a movie about a theme-park ride made by Disney?". But after seeing the talent involved with this and after seeing the finished product, I'm still in awe.
This was a movie I'd see Ray Harryhausen doing back in his hayday of stop-motion animation.
I think this is the best pirate movie since Swiss Family Robinson. I'm glad Disney didn't make this too campy or well, Disney. That's probably due to Bruckheimer and the director. Yes, Depp stole the show (probably my favorite performance by him next to Ed Wood and George Jung of Blow), but the rest of the cast did an amazing job also. ILM made me look twice to see if those skeletons were CG or animatronics. I'm trying to decide what to give it, an A- or a B+, but either way it is the summer's biggest surprise and maybe a contendor for best summer movie this year.

5. Big Fat Pirate sitting on barrels as wenches pour rum into his fat face.

See Bend it Like Beckham (comes out on DVD in Sept in the U.S.) and you can see her in a soccer uniform.

Being that these message boards have the most negative fans on the planet, I'm not surprised by the luke warm posts here.

For me however, this was by far, THE BEST MOVIE I've seen all year. And that is because of how utterly refreshing this movie is & how iconic Johnny Depp, the most diverse living actor today is. Yes, many will complain this movie is long, with the MTV generation 90 minute movies everyone is use to. But this movie needs to be long. This movie has no MTV soundtrack, now zoom in shaky camera, no cuts every 2 seconds, no zoom-ins while everyone is talking. It's a rare pirate movie. The pirates act like pirates, talk like pirates. The movie is fun, the pirates are fun. You can see the action, you can see the swordfights, the camera isn't an inch away from the action.

And Johnny Depp, dear lord,except for they "butcher" in Gangs of New York" there hasn't been a character this charasmatic, this scene stealing, this much fun to watch in years on the big screen. HE just owns this role, every line, every little facial gesture. Every little funny hand wave.

I really hope this movie has good word of mouth. For me, in this era of rap soundtracks & MTV editing, where every action movie has to invlolve a cop, or swat team, with explosions every 5 seconds, this movie stands out & is a special movie.

All i have to say about this movie is "HARRRRRRRRRRRR"

Pirates rock!

Sessa17: have you not read the posts in this thread? It looks like a bunch of gushers for the most part, but the movie deserves it! Which not many out this summer do IMO.
Another ride reference: when they were entering the cave on the island, you see skeletons on a shore with crabs crawling around them. It is a little detail you notice on the ride at the beginning if you pay attention. Oh, and let's not forget the recurrance of the song!
I hope this movie gets good word of mouth and sustains throughout the summer.

I actually haven't had this much fun seeing a movie in the theaters since Star Wars. Yes, the original, 1977 version, of Star Wars. Maybe it's because the "space operas" play out quite a bit like old pirate stories, but instead of the sea, they are set in space. Or maybe it's the meeting in the cantinas, the saving of the beautiful girl, and the dark villians in this movie that really reminded me of Star Wars and thus made me draw a connection to that movie. But as I was sitting there, I was actually GLAD for the kids sitting in the theater. After seeing dreck upon dreck spat out on movie screens summer after summer, formulaic, empty drivel that does little or nothing for the audience, I was glad for the younger viewers seeing this movie because I felt they were seeing something along the lines of what I enjoyed when I was a kid when I saw Star Wars.

Of course, it's a tad formulaic in of itself. It's not the most original tale in the universe: a couple guys go out and try to save a beautiful woman from a group of bad guys. But the execution of the story, the acting, and the special effects all nailed it for me. Of all the horrible CGI I have seen in movies in the past, this was among the best special effects done in CGI I've seen. And were they showing off when they went from moonlight to dark? Sure! Why not! They were having fun with it, why not give the audiences something fun to look at!

This movie left me hungry to see more, and it left me wondering about what other stoies could be told with these characters, much like when I first saw Star Wars. Not too many movies get my imagination going the way Star Wars did, but Pirates of the Caribbean certainly did.

This to me, is what elevated this movie from being a good movie, to a truly great movie. IMO it's one of the most classic modern movies of the past few years. It's also what made this movie the best movie of the year for me. Where almost every single big budget hyped movie had a forced ending purposely set up for a sequal that you know is coming, such as T3, Reloaded, Hulk, Charlies Angels, X2, Pirates had a finished ending. however more than all of those other movies, I want to know where Jack Sparrow goes now, what his next adventure is, does he have a next adventure & who will he encounter etc.

When I look at all the other big movies that have come out this summer, this entire year. Depp gives the most complex performance for the most complex character. Sparrow is a ruthless extremely selfish, self-centered pirate, yet at the same time he is a good man that cares about others. He is cunning & witty yet always winds up in trouble, he is graceful yet bumbling, carefree yet has a focus of revenge. All that is what really makes this character & movie stand out this year.

I think she also played Sabe, the queen's decoy, in "The Phantom Menace." Not 100% sure, but I think it was her.

6. "Dead men tell no tales."
7. "A Pirate's Life for Me"
8. the piles of gold, etc. kept in the watery caves

BTW, what was up with those "little funny" hand waves? Don't get me wrong: overall I enjoyed his performance. He was humorous and he usually stole the scene, but those hand waves and his mascara left me wondering if he was trying to imply something else about his character. The other pirates didn't have mascara on, so what's the story with his eye make up?

It was part of his character & that is the point "the other pirates didn't have mascara on". Even though Sparrow was a legend, he still exagerrated everything. He wants everyone to know who he is, to hear tails of Jack Sparrow, the eye make up is just an extension of that. It wasn't everyone that had make-up & in the context of the movie probably most didn't look at him, & go "hey that is Jack Sparrow, why does he have mascara on?" (not to mention mascara wasn't incented them), they said things like "I saw that there Jack Sparrow once, he was 9 feet tall & I sweart his eyes were as black as the pits of hell". The eye shadow is just an easy way for JAck to look more mysterious, unique, mystical etc. etc. Same with the hand waving & the way he carried himself, it's part of the character in the context of the movie, not everything is about "implying something else about his character".

IMDb says you are correct (it's spelled Sabé).

I just came back from seeing this movie and frankly, I was so pleasantly surprised how GOOD the film was.

This is one surprisingly fun adventure movie to watch. I was impressed by the special effects, and Johnny Depp is absolutely superb in this movie--he literally carries the film.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Just saw this movie earlier today. What a great movie! Best I have seen all year... I put Depp's performance up there with Daniel Day Lewis' in Gangs of NY. Geoffrey Rush did a great job as well but as I was watching the movie I couldn't help but think that Gary Oldman should have been given his role. Maybe he will be in the sequel Excellent movie, hoping it will be the summer blockbuster!

Good movie, I loved the cinematorgraphy. It has such an enticing and engrosing look to it. The story was good and the sword fighting was quality. The skeletons looked good but still CG'y to me.

Over all 4/5

i went in with HIGH EXPECTATIONS thinking it was going to be a dark, action, man vs skeletons flick! an hour into it i realized uh, no...but i think thats cuz it was a disney flick (wasnt it?). but the last 30 minutes RULED! totally made up for it.

depp was great! helarious!

btw the transitions from human to skeleton in the fight scenes were FLAWLESS! very impressed!

Applause.

This film WILL win the oscar for Best Visual Effects.

And, since no-one's mentioned it yet, Keira Knightley is fabulous. Time to pop in my r2 of Bend It Like Beckham.

This'll be a sweeeet DVD, too. Cinematography like that demands a flawless transfer, and Bruckheimer DVDs usually have DTS when available - even Coyote Ugly had it!

Great movie! A+

The 2nd act was way too long and could have been shortened by about 20 minutes.. The 1st and 3rd acts were great though!

Johnny Depp was terrific!

The best part: It was so real. The CGI wasn't a main character, or in your face, or "uncopyable" or used to carry a weak plot. The FX were there to accent the plot, and ADD to the movie. I think alot of films could learn from this. Not everything has to be digital. Perfect use of technology

Easily more entertaining than the other "blockbusters" i've seen this year.

I sound like a shill.

I agree with your assessments 100%.

Yes, the middle part of the film did drag a bit, but the beginning and end--wow!

This is the best summer movie I've seen in a long, long time. Disney is going to be REAL happy that Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ends up being the two biggest summer blockbusters this year.

Well I must say this movie was terrible, Worst movie i've ever seen in my life.

Oh we're not talking about Charlie's Angels? yea POTC was Great, by far the best movie i've seen this summer, although I haven't got around to seeing T3(but from what i've heard it won't compare).

I saw this last night and loved it. Depp was phenomenal.

I really liked that the movie was fun without trying too hard. More of this summer's movies should have followed it's lead. (I'm talking to you Charlie's Angels!).