Monday, May 23, 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides



Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tide -- 3/5

I am one of the hugest Pirates fans, and I love the first three ones ever so much (the first being in my top 15 movies of all time). I find them exciting, fun, and they always have something new going on. However, even though I enjoyed the new Pirates entry, I feel like it was a huge step down from the older ones and possibly (I bite my tongue now) an unneeded film to the series as a whole.
The film starts off like an average Pirates movie -- there's a goal (The Fountain of Youth) and our faithful Captain Jack Sparrow hasn't a plan, but is just moving forward with the motions. You are reintroduced to all the old characters (Barbossa and Gibbs) and then some new (Angelica played by Penelope Cruz and Blackbeard played by Ian McShane). It's interesting, it's funny, but there's something missing...and if you haven't noticed from the lack of their appearances in the posters and trailers, Will and Elizabeth are officially gone. Instead, they attempted to replace said couple with Philip (played by Sam Claflin) the Christian and Syrena (played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey) the Mermaid. If trying to force Jack with a lover was enough, the flimsy replacement of Will and Elizabeth is contrived, and overall I feel the movie would have done better without them at all. Sure, they needed the mermaid for the Fountain, but there was no need for Philip what-so-ever. He was easily eliminated and I honestly wish he had been. Their subplot was the worst part of the movie, and the extra 30 minutes they both added together just dragged the film down to the depths.
There were some enjoyable parts of the film. As always, Jack and Barbossa have some pretty witty banter, and a lot of the twists and turns to get to the Fountain are pretty cool. Also, the mermaids were dark and scary and I loved watching them attack the pirates. I really liked watching the movie, but sadly it just wasn't the best. However, I never expected it to excel without Will and Elizabeth anywho.

And BTW my previous Pirates ratings, just so you can compare:
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 4.5/5
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 3.5/5
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 4/5

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