Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean:

On Stranger Tides

                Captain Jack Sparrow is back for a fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.  I have to confess, that I was finished with Jack Sparrow after the first movie.  It’s not to say I didn’t love his performance, but sometimes a character that is seen less is appreciated more.

                The original Pirates of the Caribbean, in my humble opinion, was not a great movie.  In fact, I found it incredibly mediocre.  It was only the incredible icon creating performance of Johnny Depp that made the movie memorable.  His magnificent interpretation of the eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow created a character that will be remembered in the annals of movie history.  However, in this sequel obsessed movie era that we live in (I do my part in enabling those sequels) Disney continues to go to their money well and brings us back a character who should be more respected than to continually put into sequels.

                This time out, Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom are dumped to make room for a former lover of Jack Sparrow; the enchanting Angelica (played by the fetching Penelope Cruz).  They put aside past differences to set sail in search of the Fountain of Youth.  They are in a race against the Spanish Armada, King George’s navy (lead by Barbossa, in which Geoffery Rush reprises a role that seems to get increasingly tiresome), and the villainous legendary Blackbeard (Ian McShane does a fantastic job and brings a little freshness to the movie).   Geoffery Rush is a great actor and portrays a stereotypical pirate excellently, but much like the franchise, this character is tired.  Besides, is Barbossa alive or dead?  I’m confused by the past movie progressions. 

                I will say, I enjoyed the lover’s sparring between Sparrow and Angelica.  Their chemistry was really the only thing that held the movie.  There was a sub-plot involving a young cleric (Sam Claflin) and a French mermaid (Astrid Berges-Frisbey).  This was meant to substitute for the Bloom-Knightley dynamic from the previous films, but it was too little and too obvious to be engaging.  Still, I found it to be a little more interesting than the Bloom-Knightley romance.  It merited more screen time to develop, but Depp and Cruz were so out there in their performances that they commanded the films focus.

                Rob Marshall takes the director’s reins and does a good job recreating the feel of the previous films. It’s just that the genre is tired and lacks any luster.  The movie uses sword fights, chases, and clever quips to replace any real plot.  The secret of the Fountain of Youth is so complicated that they had to keep explaining it so we could figure it out.  Other than the Depp-Cruz dynamic, the other intriguing new slant was the introduction of Mermaids.  They were at once beautiful and deadly.  It was the one part of the movie where they had my entire attention.  A well crafted take on the old sailor’s legend.

                The movie will do what it was intended and that is make money.  I felt it diluted a great character and recycled a mediocre movie.  Go for the chases, sword fights, and the over the top acting and you can probably have a good time.  I was a little bored.

I rate this movie:  * ½ stars