Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: July 9, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
Pirates is OK, in patches even better. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The picture's constant forward movement and breezy sense of amusement about itself provide a certain mild sort of diversion. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The large cast, costumed and made up as filthy scalawags and sinister buccaneers, gives tremendous energy to every scene. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
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 as Captain Jack Sparrow. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Director Gore Verbiniski delivers the best one can hope for: a cleverly nostalgic, high-tech copy of the real deal. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Depp swans through this swashbuckler with a scene-stealing gusto unseen since Marlon Brando in "Mutiny on the Bounty." He's comic dynamite, but this plodding, repetitive bore should walk the plank for timidly refusing to light his fuse. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The movie blows, me hearties, but don't you dare miss it...Why? Johnny Depp, that's why...This has gotta rank among the weirdest performances in the zany annals of the silver screen. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This typically bloated production from Jerry Bruckheimer is good swashbuckling fun for the first few reels but eventually slows to a halt under the weight of too many doubloons. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalCollin Levey
Without Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, who play two rival pirate captains, "Pirates" might have gone straight to video. The two are a pleasure to watch, rescuing an otherwise forgettable film.
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
My main complaint -- there's too much emphasis on action -- will strike the film's young target audience as a see-worthy virtue rather than a fault. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Eventually the concept buckles under the heavy blockbuster treatment, becoming a monotonous, repetitive spectacle of endless shipboard sword fights and pirate ghosts in the moonlight. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
There may be nothing more fun for actors than experimental exaggeration, especially when filming on a Caribbean island. But there’s nothing that makes an audience feel less welcome than not being in on the joke. Read full review
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