As this box-office smash is based on one of Disney's most famous theme-park attractions, we might have expected a shiver-me-timbers swashbuckler that's short on plot and long on action. Not so. It delivers plenty of both and is infinitely superior to the ride itself. With producer Jerry Bruckheimer at the rudder, it's a lavish Hollywood voyage into pirate country that effortlessly fills its two hours plus as blacksmith Orlando Bloom and governor's daughter Keira Knightley fall foul of buccaneers. Geoffrey Rush milks his role to the hilt as an archetypal pirate captain, but the real treasure comes courtesy of Oscar-nominated Johnny Depp, who delivers a swaggering, slurring, mascara-wearing turn as rascal Jack Sparrow, a seafaring rock-star type and irresistible comic hero. Complementing the action are some superb special effects, with the skeletal curse of the Black Pearl's crew under moonlight a particularly well-staged showpiece.

Jack Sparrow, a freewheeling 18th-century pirate, quarrels with a rival pirate bent on pillaging Port Royal. When the governor's daughter is kidnapped, Sparrow decides to help the girl's love save her.