Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

“On Stranger Tides” Plunders the Spot for Best “Pirates” Sequel

By: Tyson Anderson

Rating: 7.5/10

Overall:

This is the day that you’ll always remember as the day that a “Pirates” sequel was almost really good! Savvy?

Thumbs Up:

There are actually many good things that I have to say about the recent adventure of Jack Sparrow in the Caribbean. Although I am not a big fan of fourth movies (I prefer trilogies...after three films you know the studios are losing creative brain cells) “On Stranger Tides” actually improves on its two predecessors “Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End”.

And how does it improve you may ask? Well first and foremost, writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio wisely bring the story back to a quest-driven tone as Jack Sparrow, along with others, seek after the fabled Fountain of Youth. This direction is a few steps up from the convoluted storylines that plagued the last two “Pirates” films. Although there were still times I wasn’t completely clear what was going on in this film, most of the time the story was easy to follow. Simple plotlines make for great entertainment in adventure movies. Only if you’re Christopher Nolan can you pull off the complicated while still delivering the goods…ex: “Inception”.

Another way “On Stranger Tides” surpasses the other sequels is that it throttles back on the special effects and uses characters instead of computers to entertain. As much as I enjoyed the Kraken in “Dead Man’s Chest” and the huge whirlpool/ship battle in “At World’s End”, I’d much prefer a good ol’ swordfight between Jack and a Spanish pirate woman! How cool is that!? Her name is Angelica and she’s played by Penelope Cruz, who brings fire and a lot of fun to the Pirates adventure. She’s the perfect match-up for Jack Sparrow, and when the two of them are together on screen it’s a blast to watch! It’s reminiscent of the on-screen chemistry between Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in “The Mask of Zorro”, one of my favorite movies of all time (He’s young and vigorous…). Also, the interactions between Sparrow and Barbossa are great, making you wish they spent more time together during the movie! All in all, the dialogue between the main characters is quite entertaining.

Despite criticism from other reviewers, I very much enjoyed Ian McShane as Blackbeard. How grateful I am that the writers chose to bring a well-known pirate into the story, instead of relying on little annoying weasels like Lord Cutler Beckett to supply the villainy. Blackbeard is really a bad guy, as seen by the way he mercilessly executes a mutinous member of his crew. Although I would’ve liked to have seen more character development from him (more on that in Thumbs Down), his character was a fun addition and brought some needed menace to the movie.

The best scene in the movie that really put it above the other sequels is the eerie and spellbinding attack of the mermaids. We’ve all seen different interpretations of mermaids, but this has got to be my favorite. They’re like vampire Ariel’s! If any of you have seen the live-action “Peter Pan” movie with Jason Isaacs, the mermaids in it closely resemble these monsters; however, the “Pirates” ones are much more deadly. The scene where they attack the boats of pirates makes for terrifying fun. ♪Part of your world….*vampire shriek*!!♪

Thumbs Down:

Despite the many plusses about the new “Pirates” movie, there are some downfalls to it:

It was missing a really, really good action scene. One thing about Gore Verbinski (director of the first three) was that he could come up with some pretty sweet action sequences. I loved the swordfights in all 3 movies because they were extended and had some great choreography. The fights in this movie are pretty good, but the terrible lighting shadows the choreography and the length of the duels are just not satisfying enough. The final fight at the end is especially disappointing; if I watch a movie about Pirates then I expect to see some swash-bucklin’!

As much as I enjoyed the Blackbeard character, there were just some things missing about his background. Why in the world does his sword have supernatural powers? Where did the zombies on his boat come from? Where did he come from? Why is he so evil? I like having my bad-guys to be more than one-dimensional goons.

I’m a huge fan of Hans Zimmer and his score of the third “Pirates” ranks up there in my favorite soundtracks. However, I did not notice anything special about his score for this movie. It reminded me of John Williams’ score of the last Indy movie: a re-hash of all the old themes with nothing new to offer. Of course the old themes are great, but come on! Give me something new to chew on! Shame on you, dear Hans.

And last but not least, a comment or two about objectionable content. This is the first Disney movie to ever contain a reference to any sort of sexual content in its MPAA rating (this film includes “sensuality and innuendo”). Honestly, I didn’t find too much sensuality and innuendo in the movie; my main gripe was with the mermaids. Why do they have to be topless?! Yes of course their chests are barely obscured by their long flowing hair, but there are definitely some “almost!” moments. I didn’t appreciate that very much. At least Ariel had a bikini top! Stick with your original interpretation, Disney.

After All is Said and Done…:

This is my list the “Pirates” series from favorite to least:

1. Curse of the Black Pearl (9/10)  2. On Stranger Tides (7.5/10) 3. At World’s End (7/10) 4. Dead Man’s Chest (6-6.5/10)...depending on my mood.

Any debaters? Bring it on!

This film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/violence, some frightening images, sensuality and innuendo