Movie Review: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

2011
PG-13

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a 2011 action film directed by Rob Marshall that serves as the fourth installment in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The film opens with our favorite hero, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) traversing the streets of London in the hopes of finding a ship that will take him to the fabled Fountain of Youth. After meeting - and fighting - a former lover named Angelica (Penélope Cruz), Sparrow finds himself a deckhand on the Queen Anne's Revenge, ship of the feared Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Angelica, who happens to be Blackbeard's daughter, has learned of a prophesy saying that her father will be killed by a one-legged man unless they can reach the Fountain of Youth and guarantee his immortality. So, with the help of "Captain" Jack, the Revenge travels across the Atlantic Ocean, sailing through mermaid-infested waters to the island where the Fountain of Youth is said to be. To make matters worse, the crew has to keep a weather eye out for their competitors: a mysterious band of Spaniards and a crew of British privateers led by none other than the all-too-familiar Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), all who also seek the Fountain's amazing power.

When I first heard about the idea for On Stranger Tides, I was immediately filled with a sense of glee and fanboy-ish excitement. As you may or may not have noticed from my posts in the past few days, I'm quite a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, so taking another venture with good ol' Captain Jack seemed like a fantastic idea. However, as some of the details of the film started to be released, I started to question whether the franchise was going in the right direction. (I think a lot of the questions I had were raised in my trailer breakdown for On Stranger Tides). It seemed like there were just too many changes: the characters of Will and Elizabeth wouldn't be returning; Rob Marshall had replaced Gore Verbinski in the director's chair... I'm sure I could list any number of deviations from the original trilogy. So I feel like my concerns were somewhat justified. One piece of information that kept my hopes up for On Stranger Tides was the fact that the screenplay was going to be loosely based on Tim Powers' novel of the same name. The fact that they actually had award-winning source material for the storyline gave me a little bit of hope that we might have a legitimate screenplay this time around. But that's neither here nor there, I suppose. But I digress... Let's get into my review of the film.

I don't think I need to say much about the acting that I haven't already said before. Depp and Rush are their fantastic selves once again, and Kevin McNally does well reprising his role. Aside from those three, however, we have an entirely new cast, and I think that was the most off-putting part of the film. Because we the audience had spent three films with the same characters, something felt a little amiss without Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley running around and falling in love. I even missed our little bits of comic relief from some of the minor characters. That being said, I didn't think that our newer characters were all that terrible. Academy Award-winner Cruz does well with her role, but I don't think she was given a lot to work with (more on that in a moment). McShane is also a force on the screen, and although I think they could've gone a little deeper with his character, he was definitely serviceable. Also be on the lookout for cameo appearances from Keith Richards and Dame Judi Dench.

The storyline is also serviceable, but it's lacking a little bit of the bite that the previous films have seen. But I have a bit of a theory on this. Let's think back to 2003 when The Curse of the Black Pearl hit theaters. No one really knew what the film was going to be like - I mean, it was a movie adapted from a theme park ride, so it probably could've gone either way. As we all know, it turned out to be a smash hit, but critically, financially and personally for me (the original film ranks as the fifty-fifth greatest film I've ever seen). Because no one knew it would have such success, however, the film was crafted so that it could stand alone as its own story. After its massive popularity, two sequels were shot simultaneously, and they were both completely connected, creating two films that cannot stand alone - they need each other to make sense. The reason for this complementary nature is the amount of exposition we're given - information given in Dead Man's Chest is essential to understand At World's End completely. The first film didn't delve into the exposition because we didn't know whether it would click with audiences in the first place.

Fast forward to 2011, and we have the fourth installment in a highly successful franchise. All reports currently say that two more Pirates films will be on the way, crafting a second trilogy for the series. Because these films are almost certain to rake in huge numbers at the box office, I think it's safe to say that Pirates 5 and Pirates 6 loom on the horizon. Because of this, I think the filmmakers chose to give On Stranger Tides - the first film in their NEW trilogy - a different feel. With the certainty of successive films, they could delve into exposition with this particular installment. The whole feel of On Stranger Tides gives the sense that there's much, much more to come.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is just the start of another continued adventure into the Jack Sparrow saga, and it should be viewed as such. Some people may be put-off by the slightly slower pace, but this second trilogy is already looking to have a vastly different face than its predecessor. I for one am excited by the prospect, and I shall eagerly await the next installments. Maybe it's just me being a fanboy, but I'm expecting some great things from the next couple of Pirates adventures.

(Oh, and as is the usual with the Pirates films, don't forget to stay through the end credits for one final scene.)

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B
1.5 Thumbs Up

Addition to Rankings
Best Sequel - #32

DVD Challenge #8: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
2007
PG-13
Run-time: 2 hours, 49 minutes

Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Yun-Fat Chow, Tom Hollander, & Bill Nighy


The third and then-final chapter in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise may have garnered the worst critical reviews of the original trilogy, and it may have been the least-understood and least-loved installment of the films to that point, but I for one have always rather enjoyed it. Sure, I'm a bit of a Pirates fanboy, and I have no qualms with admitting myself to be as such. I can see where some may have been put off by At World's End - it's twenty minutes longer than Dead Man's Chest, making it the longest film in the series, On Stranger Tides included. At nearly three hours long, it definitely feels it at certain moments. But I still find it to be a romping ride into pirate mythology and lore.

As I mentioned in my write-up of Dead Man's Chest, the second and third films in the Pirates franchise held relatively true to the basics of pirate mythology. I didn't learn any of this until after seeing the third film in theaters. At the time, I was as confused as everyone else with all of the goofiness of Davy Jones' Locker in the film and its continuation in the film's reality. In addition, the concept of the goddess Calypso got a lot of people scratching their heads as well. As far-fetched as it sounds, it all holds true to the mythological basis of many a supernatural pirate story. And as we saw in The Curse of the Black Pearl, the filmmakers had no problem delving into the supernatural.

And so, if you can suspend your disbelief for the epically long adventure, you're in for quite a treat. Yes, there's a bit of pirate politics involved, and at points, the film moves a little bit slower than the previous films in the franchise. However, it all serves as quite a bit of exposition which may have been better served to be spread out throughout the franchise. We get it all here, as it were, and for those of you who are able, there's a lot to be had. I know that the screenplay offers quite a bit to digest, and I think the sheer magnitude of information we're given pushed a lot of viewers away when the film hit theaters back in 2007. There's so many intertwined storylines that it's a little bit difficult to follow at times, but multiple viewings definitely allow a better understanding.

As usual, we get a slew of legitimate performances. Johnny Depp is Jack Sparrow once again, delving into a bit of a weirder portrayal of him as he battles the doldrums of Davy Jones' Locker. The return of Geoffrey Rush to a starring role is also a welcome sight as his absence in the second film definitely caused me to miss him. We even get a cameo from famed Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards, whose screen presence is so dominant that it's hard to take your eyes off him.

So although there's many an individual who wasn't fond of this ending to the trilogy, I for one love it equally and find it a legitimate finalé. Had the series ended on that note, I would have embraced the trilogy as it held. Fortunately for everyone, On Stranger Tides hits U.S. theaters tonight at midnight, so we shall see where the winds will take us. I couldn't be more excited.

Previous DVD Challenge: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2007)

Trailer Breakdown: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - ON STRANGER TIDES

Earlier today, a second trailer was released for the upcoming sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I had originally meant to do a trailer breakdown for the first official trailer, but seeing as this new one has been released, I got myself a-thinkin'. Perhaps I could break down both trailers simultaneously in the same post? So, for your viewing and reading pleasure, I give you the first two official trailers for the next installment of the Jack Sparrow saga:

Trailer #1


Trailer #2

As per usual, I came up with a few questions that I can either answer or would like to be answered upon the film's release.

How will Rob Marshall's direction fare in comparison to the previous three films in the series?
After directing the first three films in the franchise, Gore Verbinski chose to step away from Pirates in order to work on other films (including the recent release, Rango). Rob Marshall was chosen as his replacement, and the immediate reaction was anything but wholly positive. He's the Oscar-nominated director of films like 2002's Chicago and 2009's Nine, but the musical aspect of those films led some Internet fanboys to wonder whether the newest Pirates adventure might actually turn into a silly song-and-dance number. I personally would like to give Marshall a little more credit than that, but it does remain to be seen whether his direction will change the very tone of the franchise.

We're going to the Fountain of Youth, savvy?
This shouldn't be much of a surprise considering Jack Sparrow was making his getaway with a map to the Fountain the last time we saw him. It left the door open for another film, giving us a general direction in which it may be headed. With a screenplay loosely based on Tim Powers' 1987 novel On Stranger Tides, which focuses on a potential quest for the Fountain, we could be in for quite a treat in terms of actual screenplay.

How will the additions of Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane affect the on-screen dominance that Johnny Depp has created in the franchise?
I know that the previous installments have had the likes of Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom - both fine actors in their own right - but the previous trilogy was really Jack Sparrow's show. The only one who came close to matching is screen presence was Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa. But now, Depp will have to deal with the likes of Oscar winner Cruz and Golden Globe winner McShane who both demand just as much of a presence as he does. It should work relatively well, but there's always the possibility that too much star power is just too much.

On that note, how will our new young lovers fare in On Stranger Tides?
We're going to have another young couple to replace the love story that the absence of dear William and dear Elizabeth will leave. I don't recognize the actor and actress off-hand, but it's pretty clear who they are in the actual trailer. Because it looks as though Depp will have his hands full with Cruz, I don't think this particular romance will be played as much to the forefront as the Will/Elizabeth story was, but it should be good for a decent and interseting sub-plot, especially if the girl happens to be a mermaid, as you can see in the second trailer.

Speaking of which, I feel like we're getting a lot of potential villainy here, and not all of it seems like it fits with a pirate story.
As Jack Sparrow explains in the first trailer, any expedition to the Fountain of Youth will have to cross swords (pun intended) with the likes of mermaids, zombies and Blackbeard. Okay, so mermaids, I can get behind. Blackbeard makes total sense. But zombies? Yes, previous Pirates films have had their penchant for the mystical and supernatural, but the word "zombie" just doesn't seem to fit within the parameters of pirate mythology. They could make it work, but until I see it work on-screen, I'm not going to be entirely convinced with it.

What's the deal with this new scar that graces Jack Sparrow's right cheek?
In case you didn't notice - it was brutally obvious to me - Jack has a new scar in the shape of an "x" on his right cheek. I immediately wanted to know where it came from. I'm probably thinking way too hard about something so mundane, but if they don't address it at some point in the film, I think I'll be a little disappointed.

When and why did Barbossa "join the good guys" and enlist in the Royal Navy?
So this may be the most drastic change to any of the returning characters: Captain Hector Barbossa now appears to be a man of England, sailing with the Royal Navy as some type of commander. Now, there were some hints in 2007's At World's End that Barbossa may become a commodore, but that was going to be in the Jack Sparrow-led navy that apparently never came to fruition. But now Barbossa has gone from rogue buccaneer to an enlisted man? There's something fishy going on here, and I want to know what. And while I'm on the subject, what happened to his legs?! Like Sparrow's new scar, if this isn't addressed in the film, I'm going to feel gypped.

The Black Pearl makes its return, again under a new captain. This time it's Blackbeard, and Jack needs to get his beloved Pearl back.
Now, if I heard Barbossa correctly in the second trailer, I think he said that the Pearl actually mutinied on its own. He mentions that the ship's "riggin' had come to life" and the ship turned against him and its former crew, and in the aftermath, Blackbeard must have taken control. Did this perhaps bode terribly for the crew, which held a number of very likable characters? I have yet to see or hear evidence of their return in this film, so that could have been a sub-plot to eliminate their characters without ever bringing them back on-screen. This should prove to be an interesting twist. I mean, the ship itself has a life and mind of its own? It's fanciful, but within the Pirates universe, I'd believe it.

And finally, is anyone else absolutely stoked that Kevin McNally and Keith Richards are back on board for this installment?
I'm sure it was almost a given that Gibbs (McNally) would come back and play some role in this film, but the return of Captain Teague (Richards) is definitely going to be delightful. Let's hope that he gets a little more screen-time than he did in At World's End.


All in all, I could probably delve even further into these trailers and really nitpick at what may be coming for us upon the film's release on May 20. However, I'm going to leave it here. You can ponder all you want, but the fact remains: Pirates of the Caribbean is coming back, and I couldn't be more excited!