Pirates of the Caribbean: Discover the adventure of a lifetime

If you are going to see one movie this year, go see Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. Director Gore Verbisnki has done a fantastic job with the film. He took great care to add details to the tiniest things, includ fantastic graphics, and pick a very talented cast. Unlike his previous movie, The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean is less horrific than amusing. Instead of going home with a certain feeling of fear, this time you get to go home with a light heart.

The movie is about a certain Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who is trying to reclaim his ship, the Black Pearl, from mutinous pirates. And the pirates are no ordinary pirates—they are cursed to live forever! In the moonlight their true skeletal identities are revealed. Now, in order for them to return back to being normal humans again, they must return all of the cursed Aztec gold that they stole and leisurely wasted. In addition to returning the gold, human blood must be spilled in order to completely reverse the curse.

Obviously the hero of the story is an attractive young man, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). But shockingly Bloom does not grab all of the attention. Even though Turner takes parts in very important scenes, Captain Jack Sparrow is the one who gains the interests of the viewers. Thanks to Depp, probably the other only reason to see the movie, Pirates is very entertaining. Depp is always in high spirits and cracks the funniest jokes, even during times where his life is at stake. For example, when he is being hanged and the executer announces him simply as Jack Sparrow, he angrily mutters under his breath, rolling his eyes, "CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow." His funny hand gestures that play up his already mysterious personality constantly keep the audience laughing.

Another part that I found hilarious was the reoccurring invocation of the right to parley, which gives prisoners of a pirate ship a chance to negotiate with the captain of the ship, as opposed to killed right away by the pirates. The pirates seem to get annoyed at the fact that every single prisoner they get wants to use the pirates' rule of parley. When Jack Sparrow can't seem to remember the acts name, one of the pirates reminds him, which is pretty ironic.

But the most important thing in the movie is obviously love. Yep, you guessed it-Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley, from another hit movie, Bend it like Beckham) gets kidnapped by the pirates and must be rescued by her true love, the dashing Orlando Bloom. But of course, they cannot admit their feelings for each other until Bloom exhibits his bravery and fighting skills in front of her.

Most importantly however (aside from the incredible Johnny Depp), the fantastic graphics worked their magic. When I first saw the creepy looking pirates, I was thrilled with their cool appearances. It was interesting to watch Captain Barbossa drink wine and see it drip straight through the bones. The way the pirates moved around with their skeletal bodies, their yellow eyes bulging out of their sockets, and their sudden transformation from human to skeleton was definitely something.

In conclusion, love conquers all, obviously, and there is a happy ending, but before that happens you have to sit through the scores of captivating, mesmerizing adventures which you will unquestionably adore.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (134 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG-13 for action/adventure violence.