Pirates of The Caribbean- The Curse of the Black Pearl

Undoubtedly a box-office blockbuster, critics feel controversial about this mixture of pirate and horror comedy.

Pirate movies: sunken treasures

Ahoy, me buckos! Be thar a pirate curse on them seeking treasure from movie tales of seafaring thieves?

A look at the scurvy history of many pirate-themed films would be enough to shiver the timbers of even the most resolute Hollywood moviemaker. But Disney is still taking its second gamble in two years on a big-budget buccaneer story.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" sails into theaters on a strong gust of nostalgia from fans of the longtime Disney amusement park ride. Coupled with its supernatural special-effects battles and satiric take on the genre's conventions, that could be enough to, well ... turn the tide in its favor.

The film stars Johnny Depp as the sauntering, dark-eyed rapscallion Capt. Jack Sparrow, bent on reclaiming his vessel from a crew of ghostly, backstabbing ruffians led by Geoffrey Rush as a captain so wicked he transforms into a skeleton in the moonlight.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer described the task of making a pirate film as an act of derring-do: "I always like to tackle film genres that have failed in the past."