For the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp), the crystalline waters of the Caribbean, like the high seas the world over, present a vast playground where adventure and mystery abound. But Jack’s idyllic life capsizes after his nemesis, the wily Captain Barbossa (Rush), steals his ship, the Black Pearl, and later attacks the town of Port Royal, kidnapping the Governor’s (Pryce) beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Swann (Knightley). Elizabeth’s childhood friend, Will Turner (Bloom), joins forces with Jack to commandeer the fastest ship in the British fleet, the HMS Interceptor, in a gallant attempt to rescue her and recapture the Black Pearl. The duo and their motley crew are pursued by Elizabeth's betrothed, the debonair, ambitious Commodore Norrington (Davenport), aboard the HMS Dauntless. Unbeknownst to Will, there is a curse that has doomed Barbossa and his crew to live forever as the undead, where each moonlight, they are transformed into living skeletons. The curse they carry...

Based on the Alan Moore/Kevin O'Neill graphic novel miniseries. Set in Victorian England, the film centers around a team of extraordinary figures culled from great adventure literature who are recruited by a mysterious caller to stop a villain intent on turning the nations of the world against one another. This remarkable coterie of heroes is led by Allan Quartermain (Connery) and comprises Dracula vampiress Mina Harker (Wilson), the Invisible Man (Curran), Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Flemyng), Tom Sawyer (West), Captain Nemo (Shah), and Dorian Gray (Townsend).