WORTH YOUR PIECES OF EIGHT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

YOU KNOW WHAT kind of summer it has been for big-budget studio fare when a Jerry Bruckheimer movie comes along - a Jerry Bruckheimer movie inspired by a theme-park ride, no less - and it feels like a breath of fresh air.

In this season of sequels, ``Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' stands apart from the pack not because it's wholly original or inventive but because we haven't seen anything quite like it for at least a couple of decades. And in a summer of diminished expectations, all of a sudden that feels like something of an accomplishment.

Let's face it: Movies are supposed to inspire theme park rides, not the other way around. Bruckheimer realized this and was smart enough to challenge audiences' expectations by casting an odd lot for ``Pirates,'' mixing great actors (Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush) and fresh faces (Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley) and employing his usual bevy of credited and uncredited writers to scrub the story free from cheesy theme-park associations. The result still isn't an E-ticket ride, but it's enjoyable enough, guaranteed to please anyone who has ever hummed ``Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me).''

The adventurous Depp is the movie's greatest resource. Playing scallywag Jack Sparrow, a buccaneer described alternately (and appropriately) as the best and worst pirate on the high seas, Depp is a wonder of comic imagination, delivering a joyous, inspired performance that calls to mind Eli Wallach's classic turn in ``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' in its sheer gleeful delight. Depp imagines Sparrow as an 18th-century Keith Richards, addled by sun and rum, flamboyantly prancing around like Pepe Le Pew and having the time of his life. You can't take your eyes off of him.

Depp is so good that ``Pirates'' sails at half-speed whenever he's not on the screen. The movie's central story involves a crew of undead pirates, captained by Rush (hamming it up, too), looking for the lost doubloon that will break their curse and return them to the living. The pirates' quest leads them to the lovely governor's daughter, Elizabeth (Knightley, the sexy tomboy bean-pole from ``Bend It Like Beckham''), and a daring Errol Flynn type, Will (Bloom), a blacksmith harboring a love for Elizabeth and a mysterious past.

Director Gore Verbinski (``The Mexican,'' ``The Ring'') balances his strengths (striking visuals) against his weaknesses (narrative flow) better than in the past, although a certain monotony creeps in around the end of the second act of this overlong epic. The skeleton fights are well done and convincing, but the filmmakers don't always know how to give us much of a rooting interest. (If you can't kill something, you can't have suspense, can you?)

But those flaws don't spoil the fun of this crowd-pleaser. Bruckheimer and pals have cobbled together all of the pirate genre's tropes - the cannonballs, the sword fights, the glittering treasure - and freshened them up, throwing in a couple of nods to the Disneyland ride for good measure (and great applause). That it feels like a movie and not cross-promotional gimmick (buy two tickets and get $10 off the purchase of a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt) is a something of a shocker. Here's to pleasant surprises.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL - Three stars

(PG-13: action-adventure violence)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley.

Director: Gore Verbinski.

Running time: 2 hr. 14 min.

Playing: Wide release.

In a nutshell: No need to raise the skull-and-crossbones on this one.

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Photo:

To arrive at his Jack Sparrow character, Johnny Depp mixed Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon favorite Pepe LePew - and it works surprisingly well.