'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Movie Review

The Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise is now two for four, with the fourth film of the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, putting the series back on track after two misfires (misfires in the sense that critics weren't impressed with the sequels - audiences still ate them up). The problem with both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was the plots were too convoluted and the fun was missing. Sure, Johnny Depp was back as the drunken rock star of a pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, but that free-wheeling spirit of anything goes was gone from parts 2 and 3. And, actually, by the time the franchise got around to #3, it had decided to take itself too seriously for its own good. The fact that it was rooted in a popular ride at Disneyland seemed to have been completely forgotten, as At World's End opted for a more dramatic pirate movie tone. The story overwhelmed its audience, the effects - though absolutely terrific - pushed Captain Jack's antics into the background. And after watching Pirates #3, I for one wasn't sad the series was coming to an end.

However, Disney wasn't ready to say good-bye to the blockbuster franchise and greenlit Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, a decision met with skepticism by those of us who disliked two and three. Unless Pirates #4 was going to take a completely fresh approach to the popular characters, why even bother doing another Pirates film? Pirates #3 felt stale; how could Pirates #4 be expected to bring back the joy of The Curse of the Black Pearl? Well, the Pirates powers that be had a plan and, as it turns out, they chose the right way to approach a fourth film.

First, they got rid of all the characters who were, by the third film, weighing things down. Gone were Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, and every character associated with their storylines. Those storylines were complete and the characters were deemed unnecessary for moving forward. Then, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio looked for a fresh story to plop Captain Jack Sparrow into, along with popular supporting characters Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally). They turned to Tim Powers' book On Stranger Tides and came up with a Pirates film that features Blackbeard as the main villain. With that crucial piece in place, Rossio and Elliott fleshed out the story by including a visit to King George, a past love that comes back to bite Captain Jack in the butt, Spanish soldiers, and a search for the Fountain of Youth. Not too much in the way of creepy villains, not too little in the way of comedy and action. The screenwriters got the mix right this time.

There's a lot going on in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, yet the plot's a simple thing. Captain Jack has to free his best friend, Gibbs, from prison, but in doing so runs afoul of King George. He also simultaneously discovers someone's in town impersonating him and signing up a crew. After a wild escape from the palace and a mad dash across the city, aided by his dear old dad, Jack confronts the impostor who turns out to be one of his many ex-flames, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a Spanish firecracker who's Jack's equal in just about every way - but prettier.

After a bit of swordplay and sexual innuendo, Jack winds up on board a ship forced into manual labor. He's not used to swabbing the decks, and upon learning he's been kidnapped and brought on board Blackbeard's ship - but that not a single member of the crew has actually seen the dreaded pirate - he instigates a mutiny, believing he's really leading a rebellion against Angelica. He's not, and now he's got to work with Blackbeard to capture a mermaid in order to get one of her tears.

A mermaid's tear is one of the crucial ingredients in the ritual to unlock the powers of the Fountain of Youth, and that's Blackbeard's current quest. But Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Sparrow aren't the only ones after the fountain's mythical powers. Captain Barbossa's also hot on the trail, as is the Spanish army. It's a race to see who will get there first, with Jack Sparrow at the center of all the action.

Johnny Depp's always a joy to watch. Even in Pirates 2 and 3 when all else was failing around him, Depp never failed to give his all in delivering a Captain Jack Sparrow loved by all age groups. He admits that he almost got fired off the first film for making Jack such a bizarre, quirky creature, but Disney, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and Pirates 1, 2 and 3 director Gore Verbinski let Depp follow his instincts and the result is a combined $2.6 billion worldwide gross (with more millions soon to come). Depp has always made interesting choices, charting a most unusual path to superstardom yet never falling victim to his 'movie star' status. I can't think of one film in his list you can point to that he did strictly for a paycheck, and honestly there aren't that many actors with his amount of credits you can legitimately say that about. Although 2 and 3 didn't live up to 1, 4 reconnects with what made the first film so enjoyable, and that's in large part due to Depp's involvement in the development of the story.

Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa is missing a leg in On Stranger Tides, but despite that there's a spring in his step as he and Captain Jack square off once again. Rush and Depp wanted Barbossa and Sparrow's relationship to play out like an old married couple, and that's exactly how they come across in Pirates #4.

As for the newcomers to the series, Sam Claflin and Astrid Berges-Frisbey actually get the short end of the stick as a young innocent missionary and the mermaid he falls in love with. Both are fine in their parts, but their storyline feels a bit forced and slows the pacing of the film down. Faring much better is Penelope Cruz as the fiery Angelica. This is the second time Cruz and Depp have worked together (the first being 2001's Blow), and Cruz was the perfect choice to bring to life the first, as the filmmakers call her, fully-realized female pirate of the Pirates franchise. Angelica's a real spitfire, and Cruz gives her a playfully wicked personality, one in which you can believe she's ready at any moment to stab Jack through the heart or rip his clothes off and take him to bed.

And last but far from least, Ian McShane doesn't need to speak like a pirate to deliver a convincing Blackbeard. One look in Blackbeard's steely eyes is enough to frighten the most stalwart of men with good cause. There's not a redeeming bone in Blackbeard's body. He's evil through and through, which would have been easy for McShane to overplay. Instead, he lets Blackbeard's imposing physical presence do much of the work, keeping his voice dangerous yet controlled.

The Bottom Line

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides isn't quite as good as the first film. There's the unnecessary side story involving the missionary and mermaid's romance, and zombies are thrown in as members of the crew when it would have been equally as effective - and less frightening to younger audiences - to stick with human characters. Personally, I would have liked less of the mermaid romance and zombies, and more time with the clan of vicious mermaids (these are definitely not the delicate creatures we now normally see in films but instead deadly creatures who rip men apart). And although it's shorter than all of its predecessors, it still runs a good 15 minutes too long. Still, the positives far outweigh the negatives, making On Stranger Tides a decent follow-up to the first blockbuster film of the franchise.

I'd almost lost all interest in the Pirates franchise due to the direction the franchise took with 2 and 3. But while I'm not exactly ready to yo-ho-ho and declare it's once again a Pirates life for me, this fourth film did its job of bringing back a lot of the goofy fun missing from the first two sequels. Here's hoping Pirates 5 will be even better.

GRADE: B

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was directed by Rob Marshall and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence, some frightening images, sensuality and innuendo.

Theatrical Release: May 20, 2011

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