Pirates of the Caribbean is a one-of-a-kind swashbuckling adventure franchise, but an underrated 2014 fantasy film is perfect to fill the void as the wait for a sixth movie continues. Taking a page from earlier adventure films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl brought the Pirate genre roaring back into the mainstream.

The fun continued in four sequels, but the quality slowly began to decline. Pirates of the Caribbean: ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Tell No Tales was the lowest point for the beloved franchise, and the 2017 film was a far cry from the series’ former glory. Nevertheless, fans of the franchise have been clamoring for more Pirates, but a sixth film hasn’t materialized.

Since Pirates of the Caribbean is such a rare specimen among modern blockbusters with its combination of action, comedy, and supernatural elements, there are very few subsтιтutes that have the same grand scale. However, when looking outside of Hollywood, there’s actually an epic fantasy pirate movie from 2014 that checks many of the same boxes as the Disney movie series.

The Pirates Has A Lot In Common With The Pirates Of The Caribbean

It wouldn’t be off-base to say that the 2014 South Korean film, The Pirates, was heavily inspired by the success of Pirates of the Caribbean. It tells a tale of high-seas adventure with comedy and even a smattering of the supernatural thrown in as well. Despite its obvious inspiration, there are a lot of original concepts in the film too.

Instead of following the typical pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries, The Pirates goes all the way back to the founding of the Joseon Dynasty in the late 1300s. It’s integrally tied to Korean history, and eschews the usual pirate environs that have dominated the genre for decades.

It preserves the campy energy of Disney’s Pirates franchise, and the story is built around the search for a single piece of treasure that’s been swallowed by a whale. That premise alone is an intriguing and new concept brought to the pirate genre, but it’s how the story is told that makes it such an enjoyable ride.

It’s far from a perfect movie, but The Pirates hearkens back to an age of blockbusters that has sadly faded away. Even if the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise got worse, The Pirates is a perfect subsтιтute for the later sequels. It’s familiar enough to please fans of the Disney series, but new enough not to be stale or repeтιтive.

The Pirates Also Has A Sequel That’s Worth Watching

If one Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired movie wasn’t enough, The Pirates got a sequel in 2022. The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure doesn’t follow the same cast of characters as the first, but has a very similar premise to its predecessor. Bandits and pirates search for lost treasure, and there is plenty of seafaring action to please any pirate fan.

The Last Royal Treasure isn’t as good as its prequel, but it is still a fun movie with plenty of highlights. The lack of returning characters made it difficult to get too invested in the series, but it has merits of its own. Pirates of the Caribbean is irreplaceable, but The Pirates duology is certainly fun in its own right.