"Pirates": What's the Deal with Jack Sparrow Being Cursed?

I finally got to see Pirates of the Caribbean.... last night. It was quite enjoyable, though indeed could have been tightened up in the last hour. I am confused, however, on the aspect of Jack Sparrow being cursed like the others. At the end, when he lurches into the moonlight, he's revealed to be every bit the ghoul the other Black Pearl crewmember's are, yet in the earlier scene in the jail when two crewmembers confront Jack and we get the first "reveal" of the crew's true nature (the arm in the moonlight), Jack doesn't change.

Is this a continuity fault, or is there something else going on that I missed? His comment earlier ("there really IS a curse", or some such), and later when he's shown to be a ghoul ("well, isn't that interesting") makes me think there's more to it, but I can't figure it out.

 

You must have blinked during the last fight. Jack Sparrow purposely made himself "cursed" by lifting a gold piece from the treasure chest so he could fight the other cursed pirates and not die. Then of course they trick the others and they're un-cursed and they get killed and all that.
It was a fun movie but they could have trimmed at least 30 to 45 minutes from the whole thing. The middle fight scenes are just too long, so by the time we get to the coolest fight at the end I felt sort of tired.
But still a fun ride and a happy surprise of the summer. Johnny Depp is terrific.
Dan C

 

Thanks! I feel a little stupid, since I'm usually the one who catches nuances like this and then have to explain them to others.

John K.

 

My daughters were there to help out their old man with the subtleties. They'd seen it twice before I saw it with them.

Dan C