When someone watches a fantasy movie that’ll make you fall in love with the genre, realism is perhaps not the biggest criterion on your mind. However, when watching a movie like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which is an adventure movie with fantasy elements, you could perhaps expect some accuracy, especially in the naval territory.

Though the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels changed after the first movie, and not always in a positive direction, the first film also has flaws in terms of accuracy. The depiction of the major combat as evaluated by a naval warfare expert is mired in mistakes, some in the characters’ decision-making, and some in the portrayal of the ships’ movements.

The biggest Pirates of the Caribbean plot holes are in the sequels to The Curse of the Black Pearl, and it is still a fantastic adventure fantasy. However, the video of the naval warfare expert explaining why the battle scene gets only a 4/10 demonstrates perfectly how movie magic can often not be made without abandoning logic and realism.

Expert Calls Out Pirates Of The Caribbean’s Battle Scene As Unrealistic

Evan Wilson is a professor at the US Naval War College, and in a recent interview with Insider, he evaluated the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with the battle between the HMS Interceptor and the Black Pearl. From the ship’s quick anchoring to Jack’s iconic swinging, he evaluates every aspect of the battle.

After pointing out that throwing out a single cannonball doesn’t lighten a ship enough to make it significantly faster, he mentions that throwing out the cannons would be smarter, as it’s also unrealistic for just eight men to operate all the cannons. He reveals that the chain sH๏τ used by the crew would never break a mast down at once.

Anchoring the ship to quickly spin around isn’t a war maneuver because the ship wouldn’t turn quickly enough. Moreover, the two ships can be seen moving in opposite directions, yet they somehow remain close. Finally, Jack swinging from one ship to the other makes him a target, and he would realistically have been sH๏τ or fallen and been crushed.

A Scene From At World’s End Scored An Even Lower 2/10

2007’s At World’s End, which another expert once pointed out accuracy errors in, features a highly cinematic battle scene where the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl fire at and demolish Cutler Beckett’s ship from both sides. Unfortunately, it is one of the most inaccurate naval warfare scenes in history, and Wilson gives it a meager 2/10.

Not only are the sails of the ships flowing in opposite directions, but Beckett’s ship also sinks very quickly after the demolition. Moreover, the Black Pearl turns much quicker than any ship could have, and despite their high speed, both ships fire a record number of sH๏τs at Beckett’s ship.

Despite being so inaccurate though, the splinters-filled – which Wilson points out is accurate – frame of Beckett accepting his death will always be an iconic cinematic moment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.