A whole barrel of fun (From Western Telegraph)

A whole barrel of fun

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Directed by Gore Verbinski Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush Dur. 143 mins Cert. PG

It should have been particularly difficult for me to like this film because I auditioned for the role that Orlando Bloom plays, unaware that he was obviously already earmarked to take it. That is show business. It's a pyramid of dreams. A great ocean of pirates in search of one good haul of treasure.

Anyway, Pirates of the Caribbean is great. I haven't had so much fun at the cinema in ages. The director Gore Verbinski is, I think, capable of becoming one of this century's top directors. Is he a Spielberg for this generation of kids? I'm not sure. But I loved his Mousehunt, and now I love his Pirate movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean has actually existed for decades as one of the rides in the two American Disney theme parks. It's a slow boat ride that weaves though the darkness amidst illuminated animatronic scenes of pirate mayhem. It's an unlikely medium from which to extract a blockbuster movie, but it has worked far better then so many comic books, cartoons and computer games.

Disney's own Buena Vista enlisted the help of veteran high-action producer Jerry Bruckheimer, to take what was really just a title and a pallet of pirate imagery and handed it over to Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who wrote the smash animated comedy Shrek. With their wit and the comic styling of a visual artist like Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean has been created. And it's the best action adventure of the summer.

The story is a simple one. The crew of the pirate ship, Black Pearl are cursed. The only way they can lift the curse is to retrieve an Aztec coin and return it to its rightful place in a treasure chest. Unfortunately the coin is hanging round the neck of the British Governor's daughter. When they kidnap her, it's up to a young blacksmith, played by Orlando Bloom, and a mad pirate called Captain Jack Sparrow, to save her. But the young blacksmith, Will Turner will find more about his past than he cares to learn.

Johnny Depp plays Jack Sparrow, the notoriously wild pirate who helps the young blacksmith rescue the girl. His Sparrow character is unashamedly that of a drug addled rock star and completely over the top. He isn't after blood and guts, but fame and fortune. The rest of the cast is fantastic too. Keira Knightley (best known for Bend It Like Beckham) is one of the weaker elements in the ensemble, but she looks stunning as the kidnapped governor's daughter. Geoffrey Rush and Mackenzie Crook (of The Office) are superb as the feisty pirates of the Black Pearl.

It is a rum barrel of fun, and you'd be a scurvy knave worthy of nothing, but a long walk off a short plank, if you miss it!