Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

World-Building: Awesome
Characterization: Great - Awesome
Plot: Great

I feel like there's a tendency to sneer at these movies or overlook them as something not to be taken seriously. In my opinion, however, Curse of the Black Pearl has many of the makings of a great fantasy story. By far the best thing about this movie, as many have said before me, is the genius insanity of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. The other characters are also great, and one of the great things about this movie is that characters have real logical motivations that drive the plot. The world-building is just there in the background providing the perfect backdrop for the story to take place with the cursed gold, the skeletal crew of the black pearl, the British royal navy going after the pirates and so on.

The movie starts with Elizabeth Swan, the daughter of the governor of port royal. Even as a young child she was fascinated by pirates, something which concerned her father. She sees a young boy floating in the water, and, when she sees a "pirate medallion" hanging on his chest she takes it away to protect him from Norrington (a Navy man obsessed with catching/killing pirates). After this scene we fast-forward a few years  to when Elizabeth and Will Turner - the boy she saved - are grown up and ready to embark on a pirate adventure. It is Elizabeth and Will that provide the main plot arc and the main hook for the audience. Their story anchors the plot so that even when really weird things are happening or we're revisiting the same scene we have their motivations, goals, and fates to worry about. Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom deliver great performances in these roles.

Johnny Depp's performance isn't awesome just for it's nuttiness, it's also clear that he is very motivated to get his ship back - and to get revenge for Barbossa's mutiny. The scene when Elizabeth is getting him drunk on the island so that she can make a signal is great because we get to hear him actually talking seriously about his ship and what it means to him. You could say that Captain Jack Sparrow's character is responsible for the main action and suspense in the movie as well because you never know - and neither do the characters - just what Jack will do to get his ship back. He's the pirate captain, but he's also kind of the hero of the tale, despite his questionable morals. And by the time the ending rolls along and he's in actual danger you don't want him to get killed.

Geoffrey Rush as Jack's mutinous first mate, now Captain, Barbossa is in short awesome. He's another well-rounded character with a very strong motivation. The moment when he reveals the curse to Elizabeth is not only a frightening horror-movie scene, it's also a a moment when the audience is forced to sympathize with him a little bit and feel his pain. 

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. A thoroughly enjoyable adventure!