Here there be spoilers...

So, are we getting more creative or less creative? There are dozens, probably hundreds, and maybe thousands of original (well, original being a fairly relative term) scripts to be had by Hollywood, but we keep looking for things to adapt to the big screen. Recently, adaptations from nearly every medium have hit the theaters and have had reasonably good success, or actually, in many cases, wildly great success. In the past few years there have been a run of films I've enjoyed that were made from a variety of these mediums. Classic novels (the Peter Jackson-directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy), current children's books (the Harry Potter films), current novels (Fight Club), real life (Seabiscuit - though I guess some would argue that's the adaptation of a book), superhero comics (X-Men), non-superhero comics (Road to Perdition), old television shows (Charlie's Angels), cartoons (The Powerpuff Girls), cartoons into live action (Scooby Doo), and even video games (Final Fantasy).

So, now that we've exhausted these mediums, we turn to...amusement park rides? So often, drawing adaptations from a new genre can lead to instant failure. Wasn't Super Mario Brothers the first actual video game adaptation? Can a ride really do better? Well, surprisingly enough, it does.

I've been hearing the buzz about this movie for awhile, and finally settled myself into a seat to watch it. Basically, the Black Pearl (led by Captain Barbossa - Geoffrey Rush), is a ship full of cursed undead pirates who will stop at nothing to get their lives back. In their search to lift their curse, they end up capturing Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightly), the daughter of a politician. While the newly promoted Commodore makes plans to go after her, blacksmith and swordsman (and admirer) Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) enlists the help of pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to commandeer a ship and get her back. Your basic girl is captured, boy must save girl, boy is captured, girl must save boy story - but I get ahead of myself.

I think Pirates of the Caribbean is the movie I wanted League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to be. I don't know what's responsible for the paltry line of adventure films that so often hit the theaters. Is it that hard to make a good action/adventure film? Well, sure, it's hard work, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is - the most fun, the most exciting, the most wildly successful action films don't seem to need thought that goes into a good drama, or even a good comedy. Start with a creative idea (the worst ones usually have that). Keep it light, keep it simple, have fun, keep the action coming (the mediocre ones even have these). But here's where it falls apart, usually: don't make the dialogue trite and silly, make the plot follow some common sense, don't insult the viewers intelligence, It seems to be a pretty basic formula. The best action films don't tend to have a lot of depth, or a lot of philosophy or intellectual subtext. Now, I can't argue why sometimes a movie does or doesn't become popular (that would be a marketable skill), but I don't understand why it's so difficult to make a good adventure film. (Who knows - maybe I'll know differently when I start to make films.)

But Pirates follows this basic formula. It's light, it's fun, it's thoroughly enjoyable. The story itself, while I guess adapted from the ride, is rather creative, and the plot draws the viewer in like the passenger seat of a Lincoln Towncar, where you just settle in and go along for the, well, ride. I understand that many aspects or scenes from the ride appear in the movie; I suppose it may have been more fun had I remembered the ride from last time I was at Disney World 20 years ago, but I unfortunately, I don't.

Nonetheless, Pirates is great fun, and while Bloom and Knightly give good performances, Depp and Rush are simply extraordinary. I've never seen Shine, but Rush never ceases to amaze me in the roles he plays. And Depp is flamboyant as the pirate whose loyalties are consistently inconsistent. The language is wonderful - I don't know how authentic it is, but it sounds authentic, and I guess that's what matters. In the end, Pirates is an exciting action/adventure film, with a good love story, and a touch of the supernatural.

			See it if you like good action/adventure films, like to watch movies that are pure entertainment, or if you just enjoy good performances. Don't see it if you can't suspend your disbelief for a little while in the realm of fantasy, or if adventure films aren't your thing.

© 2003 Jim Manchester