Genuine fun hailing from a lost time, helped in a large part by the always spectacular performance by Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), and a subtler but equally always spectacular performance by Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa). Pirates, ships, heroes and questionable heroes, self-sufficient and bold damsels in distress, curses, swords, fights, witty and intelligent swashbucklers, and a great adventure/ghost story. And when I say 'ghost story,' I by no means infer that it is a horror, but instead refer to the amazing stories of storytelling tradition of myth and the unreal, although the nastier concoctions, nonetheless. It is, afterall, the tale of cursed and currently undead pirates. But in a cursed summer of blockbuster dissappointments, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has found Aztec gold in itself.

With an actor that barely skirts the line between mainstream and out there, an elf from a hobbit's adventure and modern myth, and an actress unrecognizably from an all-too-recent soccer bound independent hit, the film excels in both cast and story to easily surpass all the Arnolds and Hulks. One of the few films to rely on pure story and adventure to 'reel' in the viewers, it is one of the only summer films to not be a dissappointment as a summer blockbuster. And wait a second! I think.... yup, not a single giant fireball reminiscent of a volcanic blast in the entire film.

"But how?!" you ask, flaberghasted. America has not become so adrenaline and cheap thrill obsessed to lose the far more potent pull of a good story and a mythic level of adventure and circumstance. How else can you make a story of D&D (Dungeons and Dragons for those of you in denial of knowing any geekiness) proportions, of hobbits and elves and dwarves, and have masses of people willingly and enjoyably sit through three hours of a film with no ending! Although incomparable, 'Pirates' draws scores of people, from all age groups, through its return to exciting, adventurous story and imagination. It strips off all the cheap thrills to strike at the core of the human unconscious, pulling out all the wonder hidden deep inside the mythic imagination.

But don't get me wrong, the appropriate cannon fire necessarily exists, but no unnatural explosion. Cannonballs are only metal, but they do their damage with pure force. In fact, that natural feel of the entire visual appearance, while being entirely unreal and amazing, is what helps charm the audience into belief and eliminates any hesitance. Everything from set to costume to effects astounded me into a trance of willing surrender to the film. I even joyfully accepted the digital special effects without even thinking twice about it, particuarly that of the skeletal pirates, which for me is an amazing feat considering my hatred for the practice.