Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Year: 2003, 2006, 2007, 2011
Summary:
The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): As Governor Weatherby Swann, his 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and Lieutenant James Norrington sail to Port Royal, Jamaica, their vessel encounters a burning shipwreck with an unconscious survivor, the young Will Turner. Elizabeth hides a gold medallion that Will is wearing, fearing it will identify him as a pirate. The crew then glimpses a ghostly pirate ship, the notorious Black Pearl, sailing away from the wreckage.
Eight years later, Norrington proposes marriage to the now-adult Elizabeth after being promoted to Commodore. However, her over-tightened corset causes her to faint before she can answer, and she falls from the fort into the bay. The pirate medallion, which she wears as a necklace, emits a pulse in the water which signals the Black Pearl.
Simultaneously, pirate Captain Jack Sparrow arrives in Port Royal to steal a ship. After an encounter with two guards, he sees Elizabeth fall and saves her, but Norrington recognizes Jack as a pirate and orders his arrest. Jack escapes, hiding in a blacksmith's shop, where Will Turner now works as an apprentice. After a sword duel between the two, Jack is knocked unconscious and jailed, to be hanged the next day. That night, Port Royal is besieged by the Pearl, answering the medallion's call. Elizabeth is captured and invokes the right of parley. She negotiates for the pirates to stop attacking Port Royal in exchange for the medallion and claims to Captain Barbossa that her surname is Turner, as she believes her real name will reveal her importance as a hostage. Barbossa stops the bombardment, but exploits a loophole in the agreement, keeping Elizabeth prisoner. He believes she is the key to breaking a curse the pirate crew is under.
Will, who loves Elizabeth, suggests making a deal with Jack Sparrow to lead the navy to the Black Pearl, but Norrington refuses. Will persuades Jack to help him rescue her in exchange for Jack's freedom. Jack agrees after learning Will's surname is Turner, believing he can use Will to reclaim the Pearl, which once belonged to Sparrow. Will and Jack commandeer HMS Interceptor and recruit a crew in Tortuga with help from Jack's old friend, Joshamee Gibbs. They set sail for the remote Isla de Muerta, where Jack knows the pirates make port.
Will learns Jack was once captain of the Pearl, questing for Aztec gold, when Barbossa, Jack's first mate at the time, mutinied and marooned him on an island. Following the Pirate Code, Barbossa gave Jack a pistol with a single shot, intended for suicide. Jack escaped three days later and kept the pistol for ten years, saving the bullet to kill Barbossa. The pirates spent the treasure but learned it was cursed, turning them into immortal skeletal beings whose true forms are revealed in moonlight. The curse can be lifted if the coins and each pirate's blood is returned to the chest. William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, Jack's only supporter, sent a coin to his son, Will, believing the crew should remain cursed. Barbossa had Bootstrap tied to a cannon and thrown overboard, only later to learn his blood was needed to break the curse.
At Isla de Muerta, Barbossa, believing Elizabeth is Bootstrap's child, anoints the last coin with her blood and drops it into the chest, but the curse remains unbroken. After reaching the island, Will suspects Jack may betray him and knocks him out. He rescues Elizabeth and they escape to the Interceptor, leaving Jack behind. Jack barters with Barbossa, offering Will in exchange for the Pearl, but Barbossa rejects his offer and pursues Interceptor. Barbossa's crew sinks Interceptor and imprisons the crew. Will reveals he is Bootstrap Bill's son and demands that Elizabeth and the crew be freed, or he will shoot himself and fall overboard, foiling Barbossa's plan to break the curse. Barbossa agrees but applies another loophole, marooning Elizabeth and Jack on the same island Jack had been left on ten years earlier. Will is taken to Isla de Muerta, to be killed to break the curse. Elizabeth discovers how Jack escaped before: the island was used as a cache by rum runners and Jack bartered passage.
Elizabeth burns the cache of rum to create a fire that Norrington's ship spots. She convinces Norrington to rescue Will by accepting his marriage proposal. However, taking the advice of Jack, Norrington locks Elizabeth in his cabin in order to keep her safe. Returning to Isla de Muerta, Norrington sets an ambush while Jack persuades Barbossa to form an alliance. He tells him to delay breaking the curse until they have taken Norrington's ship, HMS Dauntless. Jack's plan goes awry when Barbossa orders his undead crew to infiltrate the Dauntless from underwater. Meanwhile, Elizabeth escapes her confinement and sneaks aboard the Pearl to free Jack's crew. They leave with the Pearl while Elizabeth heads to the island alone to save Will. Jack duels with Barbossa, and is seemingly killed. However, Barbossa discovers that Jack is immortal just like the other pirates; he had stolen one of the medallions for himself in case such an encounter ever arose.
Norrington spots his ship under attack and orders his men to return. They reach the ship and attack the cursed pirates. When Barbossa attempts to kill Elizabeth, Jack shoots Barbossa as Will drops the last two medallions, stained with his and Jack's blood, into the chest. No longer immortal, Barbossa collapses and dies. The now-mortal pirates aboard Dauntless surrender. Despite the victory, Jack is arrested and condemned to death.
At Port Royal, Will attempts to rescue Jack at a public hanging. Both are captured. Jack manages to escape, jumping into the ocean and swims to the newly repaired Black Pearl, which is sailing nearby. Will is pardoned by Governor Swann and allowed to marry Elizabeth. The Pearl's crew pulls Jack from the water, appointing him captain. The film ends with Jack looking at his compass while singing "A Pirate's Life for Me".
In a post credits scene, Jack, Barbossa's pet monkey, steals a gold coin from the chest, thus cursing itself once again.
Dead's Man Chest (2006): The wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who has arrest warrants for them after they aided Captain Jack Sparrow escaping execution a year ago. He has a third warrant for Commodore James Norrington, for delaying the pursuit of Sparrow, but he resigned from his position and disappeared months prior. Elizabeth is imprisoned, and Beckett sends Will to find Jack's magic compass, which points to whatever the holder wants the most at the time, in exchange for Letters of Marque which will make Jack a British privateer and ensure Will and Elizabeth's pardon. Shortly after Will leaves, Governor Swann, Elizabeth's father, tries to flee Port Royal with her, but he is arrested by Beckett's aide Mercer, and Beckett allows Elizabeth to go after Will, giving her the Letters of Marque.
Jack escapes a Turkish prison after acquiring a drawing of a key he desires, but his compass fails to provide him a heading. In the brig of the Black Pearl, Jack reunites with Will's father Bootstrap Bill, who joined the crew of Davy Jones to escape his fate trapped on the seabed. Bootstrap reminds Jack of the deal he made with Jones thirteen years ago to raise the Black Pearl from the depths, and now he must either join his crew or be dragged to Jones’ Locker by his "pet", the Kraken. The panicked Jack gets his crew to take the ship to land, ending up on Pelegosto where he is praised as a god by the cannibalistic locals who intend on eating him. Will arrives on the island and is taken captive, but he and other surviving crew members escape to the Black Pearl, followed swiftly by Jack, and are joined by Pintel and Ragetti who escaped prison. The crew visit voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, Jack's old flame, who reveals the key unlocks the Dead Man's Chest, which Jones put his own heart into after being betrayed by his lover centuries ago. Tia Dalma tells Jack where to find Jones’ ship the Flying Dutchman and gives him a jar of dirt as a weapon, since Jones can only step on land once every ten years.
Jack forces Will onto a shipwreck, only for the actual Flying Dutchman to emerge from the ocean and he is taken prisoner onboard by Jones and his fish-like crew. Jones confronts Jack, who makes a deal to break his debt if he brings Jones one-hundred souls in three days but Will has to stay on the Dutchman where he reunites with his father. Learning Will made no pledge to serve Jones, Bootstrap helps him escape the ship, Will stealing the key from Jones while he sleeps in his cabin. Will promises to use the heart to free his father. Jack goes to Tortuga to recruit new crewmates, meeting with Elizabeth, who stowed away on the Edinburgh Trader merchant ship, and Norrington, who has become a drunkard following his resignation and losing his ship and crew whilst chasing Jack through a hurricane. Both join the Black Pearl, Jack realising that if Beckett gains Jones’ heart then he will rule the seas. Norrington eavesdrops, planning to get the heart in order to regain his life and honour, and earn his title from Lord Beckett as admiral. Will hitches a ride on the Edinburgh Trader, which is destroyed by the Kraken, and Jones realises Jack is after the chest.
All parties arrive on Isla Cruces, and Elizabeth and Will kiss since they have found each other at last, but a three-way sword fight breaks out between Jack, Will and Norrington to pursue their own goals, but Jones’ crew also fight Elizabeth, Pintel and Ragetti. In the chaos, Jack unlocks the chest, removes the heart, and hides it in the jar of dirt, only for Norrington to secretly remove it and then pretends to sacrifice himself by drawing the Dutchman crew off with the chest, which he gives to them. Jack, Will, Elizabeth and the Black Pearl crew are confronted by the Flying Dutchman but the Black Pearl is able to outrun it. Jones summons the Kraken which traps the Black Pearl. Jack discovers the heart is missing and attempts to abandon his crew, but returns when he sees the Kraken destroying the ship, and wounds the Kraken with a net full of explosives. Jack orders the survivors to abandon ship, only for Elizabeth to chain him to the mast by kissing him so the others can escape. Will sees this and misunderstands, thinking that Elizabeth actually loves Jack and is jealous because he loves her himself. Jack manages to escape, but confronts the Kraken and charges into its mouth to kill it, but it drags the Black Pearl to the Locker.
Jones discovers his heart is missing. Norrington reaches Port Royal, presenting the heart to Beckett. Will, Elizabeth, Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty and Cotton return to Tia Dalma's house, where she asks if they wish to rescue Jack from the locker, to which they agree. Tia Dalma comments they will need a captain who is familiar with the waters. The aforementioned captain appears, and to their surprise it is revealed to be the resurrected Captain Barbossa, who asks what has become of "his" ship.
In a post-credits scene, the Port Royal prison guard dog is made the new chief of the cannibals at Pelegosto, and all the cannibals start acting like him.
At World's End (2007): To control the oceans, Lord Cutler Beckett kills anyone associated with piracy and uses Davy Jones to destroy all pirate ships on the seas. Condemned prisoners sing "Hoist the Colours" to compel the nine pirate lords to convene at Shipwreck Cove; however, the late Captain Jack Sparrow, pirate lord of the Caribbean, never appointed a successor. Captain Barbossa leads Will, Elizabeth, Tia Dalma and the crew of the Black Pearl to rescue Jack from Davy Jones's Locker. Sao Feng, pirate lord of the South China Sea, possesses a map to the Locker called "The Navigation Charts". Will bargains with Feng for the Pearl in exchange for Sparrow, so Will can rescue his father from Davy Jones' ship, The Flying Dutchman. The crew journeys into the Locker and retrieves Sparrow. As the Pearl seeks an escape route, dead souls float past, including Elizabeth's father Weatherby Swann. Tia Dalma reveals that Davy Jones was appointed by Calypso, his lover and goddess of the Sea, to ferry the dead to the next world; in return, Jones could step upon land for one day every ten years. When she failed to meet him, he abandoned his duty and transformed into a monster.
After returning to the living world, the Pearl is ambushed by Sao Feng. Feng betrays Will, handing over the crew to Beckett in exchange for the Pearl. Beckett takes Sparrow aboard his vessel, the Endeavour. Feng bargains with Barbossa to release the Pearl in exchange for Elizabeth, who he believes is Calypso. Feng's ship attacks the Endeavour, allowing Jack to escape. Feng tells Elizabeth that the first Brethren Court trapped Calypso in human form so men could rule the seas. When Davy Jones attacks Feng's ship, the mortally wounded Feng appoints Elizabeth as his successor, and she and the crew are imprisoned in the Flying Dutchman's brig. Bootstrap Bill Turner reveals to Elizabeth that the person who stabs Davy Jones' heart becomes the next captain of the Dutchman. Admiral Norrington is killed while freeing Elizabeth and her crew.
Jack catches Will, and they discuss Davy Jones' heart. Jack suggests he stab the heart to solve Will's conflicting obligations, then tosses Will overboard after giving him his compass so Beckett can find Shipwreck Cove. Meanwhile on the Pearl Davy Jones appears to Calypso, now revealed to be Tia Dalma, and asks why she left him. Calypso reveals that she will only let them free her so she can show them "How cruel I can be!"
Back at Shipwreck Cove, Barbossa calls upon Captain Teague, Jack's father and Keeper of the Pirate's Code, to confirm that only a Pirate King can declare war. Jack calls for a vote, the first eight Lords vote for themselves, and Jack breaks the stalemate by voting for Elizabeth, who favors a war. During a parley with Beckett and Jones, Elizabeth swaps Sparrow for Will after realizing Jack and Will plan to have Jack stab the heart.
Barbossa steals Jack's "piece of eight" and uses it and its counterparts to free Calypso. Will discloses that Davy Jones betrayed her to the Brethren Court, and Calypso's fury unleashes a maelstrom, in which the Dutchman and the Pearl battle. Sparrow escapes the Dutchman's brig and steals the Dead Man's Chest, which leads to a sword battle with Jones. Will proposes to Elizabeth, who accepts his proposal, and Captain Barbossa marries them. Will boards the Dutchman to retrieve the chest, but is mortally wounded by Jones. Sparrow places his sword in Will's hand and helps Will stab Jones's heart before Will dies. Sparrow and Elizabeth escape the Dutchman as it sinks in the maelstrom. Beckett moves to attack the Pearl but the Dutchman resurfaces with Will as the captain and the crew returned to their human forms. The Dutchman and the Pearl destroy the Endeavour, killing Beckett.
Will is bound to sail the sea as the Dutchman's captain. Elizabeth bids Jack, Barbossa and the crew farewell before Will and Elizabeth have one day together. He departs after giving Elizabeth the Dead Man's Chest. Barbossa commandeers the Pearl, stranding Jack and Gibbs in Tortuga, in order to find the Fountain of Youth, only to discover Jack cut out the middle of the map. Jack sails from Tortuga in a small boat to find the Fountain of Youth.
In a post-credits scene set ten years later, Elizabeth and her son watch from a seacliff as the Dutchman appears with Will Turner aboard, prompting Will's "one day on land" to spend with Elizabeth.
On Stranger Tides (2011): After a failed attempt to rescue his first mate, Joshamee Gibbs in London, Captain Jack Sparrow is brought before King George II, who wants Jack to guide an expedition to the Fountain of Youth before the Spanish locate it. Heading the expedition is Jack's old nemesis, Captain Hector Barbossa, now a privateer in service to the Royal Navy after losing his leg and ship, the Black Pearl.
Jack escapes, but his father, Captain Teague , finds him and warns Jack about the Fountain's tests. He also reveals that someone is impersonating Jack. The impostor is Angelica, Jack's former lover and the daughter of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard, who practices voodoo magic and wields a magical sword that controls his ship.
Jack is taken aboard Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, and forced to lead the way to the Fountain and find two silver chalices that once belonged to Juan Ponce de León, both believed to be aboard his lost ship. The Fountain's water must be drunk simultaneously from the two chalices. The person drinking from the chalice containing a mermaid's tear has their life extended, while the other person dies, their life drained from their body and their remaining years 'donated' to the other. Meanwhile, Gibbs narrowly escapes execution by memorizing and destroying Jack's map, forcing Barbossa to spare him so he could navigate to the Fountain.
Blackbeard seeks the Fountain's power to circumvent his predestined fatal encounter with "a one-legged man," (Barbossa) and sets a course for Whitecap Bay. There they are attacked by a vicious horde of mermaids, but Blackbeard captures one. Philip Swift, a captive missionary, falls in love with the mermaid and names her Syrena. Blackbeard then sends Jack to retrieve the chalices from de León's ship.
When Jack finds the grounded, decaying vessel, Barbossa is waiting inside and the Spanish are in possession of the chalices. However, Barbossa only seeks revenge against Blackbeard for attacking the Black Pearl, which forced Barbossa to amputate his own leg to escape. He and Jack join forces to defeat Blackbeard, then head to the nearby Spanish camp to steal the chalices. Meanwhile, Syrena, reciprocating Philip's love, is tricked into shedding a tear which Blackbeard collects, leaving her to die. Philip is forced to go with him. Jack returns with the chalices and Gibbs, with whom he had reunited while assisting Barbossa. Jack and Blackbeard bargain for Jack's confiscated magical compass and Gibbs' release. In return, Jack vows to give Blackbeard the chalices and lead him to the Fountain; Blackbeard agrees and Gibbs departs with the compass.
At the Fountain, Blackbeard and his crew are met by Barbossa, and then by the Spanish, who are there to destroy the Fountain, their king believing its power is an abomination against God. A battle ensues and Barbossa stabs Blackbeard with a poison-laced sword. Angelica accidentally cuts herself while removing it from Blackbeard. Barbossa claims Blackbeard's magical sword, his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, and its crew as compensation for his amputated leg. Meanwhile, Philip, though mortally wounded, escapes and returns to free Syrena. After finding the chalices that the Spaniard had tossed into deep water, Syrena gives them to Jack, then retrieves the dying Philip as she kisses him and takes him underwater.
With Blackbeard and Angelica wounded, Jack brings the chalices to them and tries to convince Angelica to drink from the one with the tear, but Blackbeard asks his daughter to sacrifice herself. Angelica agrees and drinks. Knowing that the self-serving Blackbeard would sacrifice his daughter, Jack lied about which chalice contained the tear. The Fountain consumes Blackbeard's body, which kills him by turning him into a skeleton. Although Angelica admits her love for Jack, he strands her on an island, knowing that she may want to avenge her father's death. Barbossa, who now captains the Queen Anne's Revenge, resigns as privateer and reverts to piracy.
Jack finds Gibbs, who has used the compass to locate the shrunken Black Pearl and is shown to be in possession of all ships Blackbeard had shrunken in bottles. Hoping to bring the Black Pearl to its original size, the two head off into the sunset, determined to continue living a pirate's life.
In a post-credits scene, Blackbeard's voodoo doll of Jack has washed ashore on the island and is found by Angelica, to which she reacts with a grin.
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