Sorry for the delayed review but this week I'm wrapping up my series of Pirates of the Caribbean reviews with my thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Next week I'll be revving up my Throwback Thursday Review of Cars in preparation for the threequel. Other reviews you can expect to see over the course of May and June include Throwback Thursday Reviews over The Mummy (1999), Cars 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Despicable Me 2 in addition to new reviews over Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Wonder Woman, The Mummy (2017), Cars 3, Transformers: The Last Knight, Baby Driver, and Despicable Me 3.
'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Review
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sets sail with Captain Jack Sparrow, but there's a catch, he's both ship-less and crew-less this time around. When Sparrow catches wind of an imposter recruiting for a voyage in search of the fabled Fountain of Youth, he investigates only to discover former flame and daughter of Blackbeard, Angelica. Sparrow soon finds himself onboard Blackbeard's notorious vessel, the Queen Anne's Revenge, and learns that Blackbeard's hellbent on finding the fountain for fear of a prophecy that promises he will be bested by a one-legged man.
On Stranger Tides allowed Rob Marshall to take up the helm of the franchise previously captained by Gore Verbinski. Marshall simplifies things but that only results in a restrained Pirates flick that rarely delivers the gung-ho and epic spectacle showcased in previous outings. On Stranger Tides has its moments but suffers from average action, poor pacing, flat characters, a stale story and lack of connective tissue to the original trilogy.
At times, On Stranger Tides is able to recapture the wacky, wistful spirit of the preceding chapters but these moments are few and far between, largely quartered to the film's first act. The chase sequence throughout London and pub duel are enough to entertain audiences for a solid thirty minutes, but after our characters reach the water, there's not much to see aside from a savage scheme to capture a mermaid. On Stranger Tides lacks the epic set-pieces and inventive action to keep audiences engaged for the long voyage ahead.
On Stranger Tides marks the fourth Pirates screenplay to be penned by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who you'd suspect would have charted a careful course after four movies. However, the duo concoct a story that simply didn't need to be told. Elliot and Rossio tied a neat, nice bow for the finale of At World's End but find difficulty unraveling things to send Captain Jack off to make another billion for the Mouse House. The plot connects to previous Pirates movies by the single thread that Jack was searching for the Fountain of Youth and has little else to tie things together, going as far to trapping the Black Pearl's plucky pirate crew in a bottle so they're also out of the picture.
Elliot and Rossio struggle in regards to characterization. Jack Sparrow works best as a character when when contrasted against full fledged heroes. Sparrow's the comedic supporting anti-hero so that juxtaposition is necessary to bring out any growth for his character, otherwise he's the same rugged rogue when everything's all said and done. However, On Stranger Tides places Sparrow front and center as the lead protagonist and doesn't bring any courageous souls as a source of variation. The screenplay even fails to give any characters much of an arc, considering almost all of them end up where they started to some extent. Elsewhere, Hans Zimmer composed yet another spectacular swashbuckling score that has some Latin flair thanks to guitarist couple Rodrigo y Gabriela.
The cast is composed of both veteran privateers and fresh sea dogs this time around since most of the original cast bowed out for this installment. Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow as the silly sailor never fails to amuse but he definitely seems to be on the verge of running aground. Depp's turn feels a tad worn-out and is more of the same that you've come to expect from the savvy scoundrel, the unexpected. Opposite Depp, Penélope Cruz is introduced as Sparrow's by-gone lover Angelica and projects a veil of mystery around her character, making her an interesting addition. While the two of them remain among the film's more entertaining pairings, it's a little will they/won't they with the relationship. This grows so tedious that viewers will be completely confused where either character stands when things are over with since their motivations flippantly flop around.
Ian McShane brings a grounded gravitas to Blackbeard but fails to make his mark in the halls of the franchise's sinful scoundrels. Blackbeard just doesn't have the meaty malevolency that an accomplished antagonist needs so he's not particularly memorable once the credits start rolling. The reappearing rogues encompass Geoffrey Rush and Kevin McNally as former pirate, now British naval privateer Barbossa and dependable first mate Gibbs. Despite his changed allegiance to the Queen's navy, Rush exhibits all the seaside scurvy you can possibly imagine from Barbossa and is certainly one of the film's higher marks.
The supplementary supporting characters include Sam Claflin's devout Christ follower Phillip and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey's melodious mermaid Syrena. The two were clearly meant to fill in the star crossed lover slot left open by the absence of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann but their relationship falls flat. The relationship isn't built on much of a foundation and feels crammed into the proceedings for the sake of having a love story. If that weren't enough, both actors are deliver one-note performances so neither of their characters feel fleshed out whatsoever.
In summary, On Stranger Tides isn't without its merits but they're few and far between this bloated sequel. Rob Marshall's effort to simplify things only made the franchise all the more convoluted as there's simply too many new characters for audiences to invest in any persona. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides pathetically paddles behind its predecessors, desperately seeking hold of any thread it can to keep the franchise afloat.
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