Pirates of the Caribbean - 20 years later

Really, it's more than 20

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I recently rewatched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (and then the next two, but I’ll focus on this first one here). It doesn’t feel like 20 years since it was released (actually 22 at the time of writing this), and time has been kind to the movie. In fact, I think it qualifies as a modern blockbuster classic, a prime example of what big studios used to be able to deliver every year for the summer season, and the comparison to the modern landscape reveals just how much pop culture has lost over the years.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has everything you’d want from a big-budget fantasy film: big stars, sharp characterization, a love triangle (or possible quadrilateral), great sets, amazing special effects, a wild plot, and a memorable, singable score (and it inspired the most expensive pornographic film of all time). It delivers all this as an adaptation of a theme park ride, so in practical terms, it was highly successful as a franchise starter—an original IP in the film space loosely inspired by the aesthetics of a ten-minute boat ride. When was the last big franchise started in Hollywood? It seems like a possibility that isn’t even ventured to think of nowadays.

It’s easy to point to Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow as the keystone to the product that is Pirates, and while he certainly earns his salary and gets much of the focus, the fact is that this is a movie that really is much more than the sum of its parts. In fact, it’s easy to poke holes in all the movies in this franchise without realizing this fact. Depp shines because his character is one of many well-drawn characters derived from classic archetypes. We need the heroic straight man of Will played by the Orlando Bloom (a heartthrob in his own right), the tough Star Wars princess in the 18^th century Elizabeth (Kiera Knightly—who was a real Star Wars princess in The Phantom Menace as Padme’s double) and the manic, frightening Barbosa (Jeffery Rush) to make the foolish Jack Sparrow come off. The large cast of colorful secondary characters bounces off the leads, providing all the necessary comedy when Jack isn’t around, and doubling it when he is.

The plot is chaotic, with many characters possessing many shifting motivations, and the event sequence ( in a mystery format) is tightly controlled. Every scene provides characterization and moves the plot forward, either revealing important information for understanding the various conflicts or allowing the characters to act according to their goals, which is a hallmark of experienced, efficient writing, in this case shared by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who as a team have written numerous other hits. Pirates’ crazy plot is supported by tight editing that, while packing in all the necessary events and revelations, hardly gives the audience a chance to breathe. The result is a story that explodes on screen more than unfolds.

The Curse of the Black Pearl might have an original story with new characters, but it isn’t a 100% new creation. It’s inspired by a ride, and that inspiration is surprisingly thoroughly executed here. Gore Verbinski and the writing team found a way to include all sorts of sets and moments pulled from the Disneyland ride, but even outside of these moments, the entire movie feels like it could have been pulled from the ride. The visual design is pervasive and nails the “fantasy pirate” aesthetic perfectly. The makeup and costuming are excellent, creating a sense of time-out-of-time for the universe on screen. It’s not anachronistic so much as fantastical history. Those fantasy elements are critical, as the plot revolves around an Aztec curse that turns people into literal dancing skeletons. A movie with a more serious tone or less colorful visual design could not have pulled it off.

What I haven’t seen talked about much with this film (and its sequels) is the lighting design, which is critical to how the visual designs work. The sets and costumes feel like the ride (which is mostly in the dark) because of the clever lighting used throughout. The movie feels dark without being literally dark. All the beautiful stars are well lit using contrasting colors, mostly amber as prime lighting and a cool teal or blue to produce the shades of darkness which are yet still visible. The visual space has a great mood throughout, evoking the warmth of lamplight in a pleasant way.

The score by Hans Zimmer should also not be underrated. It’s big and bombastic, matching the relentless action of the movie, but also uses themes and motifs in the classic style. The theme is as memorable as something by John Williams, if a bit more aggressive, and Zimmer even makes use of bits of music from the ride, another nod to the source.

The same people who might nitpick Star Wars can nitpick this movie, finding every moment where a joke doesn’t land, or the dialogue is stilted, where a character changes motivations on a dime or an improbable event happens just in the nick of time, or likewise some issue with the guns, cannons, and swordplay. But those same people miss the greatness of Star Wars for similar reasons. The movie is a complete product, not just a series of moments, not just a visual design. It’s an experience. Jack and the crew were very entertaining at release, and their antics still hold up, a virtue of the film being set in a time of its own, much like Star Wars. It’s a silly pirate movie, but nobody minds because it all goes together so well and is just so well executed.

Unfortunately, like many other hit movies, its influence can be felt in the decay of the industry since the original Pirates trilogy was released. Jack was a lovable bumbler, but movies trying to recreate that comedy jettison the heroic Will and instead settle for an incompetent male lead. Pirates is a comedy, but the tendency now is to force comedy into every fantasy movie, even when it undercuts the characters and plot. I don’t think it’s fair to negatively judge a movie based on becoming tired of the tropes and cliches that it itself popularized. In 2003, the movie was fresh.

If you enjoy fantasy tales at sea, consider reading my Moonsong series, a fan favorite that features pirates, especially in the second book:

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