Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Critics, apparently enchanted by the performances of Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, appear to be giving it a generous overall endorsement. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, for example, awards it three stars, even while writing that it would make a nice little 90-minute B movie but that at 143 minutes, it outstays its welcome. Nevertheless, he continues, the movie made me grin at times, and savor the daffy plot, and enjoy the way Depp and Rush fearlessly provide performances that seem nourished by deep wells of nuttiness. Similarly, Lou Lumenick concludes in the New York Post: Trimming half an hour from this bloated, 143-minute blockbuster would have highlighted the film's treasures, not the least of which is Johnny Depp's endearingly eccentric performance. Elvis Mitchell in the New York Times calls Depp's comic performance a balm, an antidote to the raucous battles and swashbuckling. And Geoff Pevere in the Toronto Star concludes that it says something about the sheer perversity of Depp's counterclockwise turn in the movie that he's the movie's only unsinkable treasure. Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post agrees: Depp is the single best reason to see Pirates of the Caribbean if you're past the age of 10, she writes. So does Jamie Bernard in the New York Daily News. Depp's peculiar buccaneer is an instant classic of actorly charisma. His performance -- with kohl-smudged eyes, beaded beard and a constantly shifting center of gravity -- elevates Pirates to one of the summer's must-sees, Bernard comments. Bob Longino in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls it the surprise movie of the summer and remarks that Depp's performance is nothing short of great. Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer probably has the best line of all in describing the film. It brings new meaning to the term 'summer camp,' she writes.