Like most fans of Pirates Of The Caribbean, I was looking forward to and dreading this fourth installment in equal measure. Unlike most fans, I was dreading it because of the omission of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly and the addition of Penelope Cruz. Also unlike most fans, my favourite of the former trilogy was actually the last film, At World's End.
So I approached these strange tides with trepidation and tried to critique the film on it's own merits. After all, a sequel where two of the main stars have bowed out is surely not a sequel but a separate film altogether?
On Stranger Tides is set almost immediately after the last film. Though confusingly, it's set immediately after the events of the main film, not after the events featured in the scene after the end credits (which was set 10 years in the future). Still with me? If not here's a recap: At the end of At World's End, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has again lost his beloved ship, The Black Pearl, to his sparring partner Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). However, wily Captain Jack has stolen the map leading to the Fountain of Youth and sets off to find it in a little dinghy. In this film he is still searching for said fountain and we follow his adventures as he comes sword to sword with his own impostor (eventually unmasked as Angelica played by Penelope Cruz), encounters vicious Mermaids, crosses paths some more with Captain Barbossa and meets the fearsome Captain Blackbeard (Ian McShane).
I'll jump right into the critique part of the review and say what I didn't like. Unsurprisingly I missed Orlando and Keira. That's right people, I even missed Keira. It just didn't feel right without them, and I kept hoping against hope that they'd filmed some kind of secret cameo and would appear at any moment. As the credits finally rolled I even hoped that the scene after the credits (and yes Pirates fans, there is one!) would belong to them. Sadly it did not. Instead, the producers have filled the gaping hole left by their characters with a whole bunch of unnecessary new ones. The missionary, Philip (played by Sam Clafin), is insipid and goofy looking (sorry but he is!) and the Mermaid just didn't cut it. As for Penelope, the boys will love her, but I just found her to be all boobs and big hair and not much else.
What I liked about it was that the lack of Will and Elizabeth allowed Captain Jack more room to shine, and that he did. The introduction of Angelica (annoying as she was) meant that for the first time we got to really see Jack use his charm on a woman. As much as I love Johnny Depp as an actor, I've never really understood the attraction to Jack Sparrow the character. However, I can see it this time around, as you get to see Jack more as a lover in this film than a wild eyed Pirate (although you get plenty of that too). As much as I could have done without Penelope I will at least say that she and Johnny had chemistry and it was nice to see Jack sparring with a feisty woman for once.
*Minor Spoiler Alert*
As usual I don't want to spoil the film for anyone but I must say that I *LOVED* Judi Dench's cameo in the film. I thought it was truly inspired and it looked like she had a blast filming it. Also, for anyone planning to take young kiddies to see this, the Mermaid attack is quite scary!
In summary, I found this installment to be a tad too long, the quest too unimportant, the 3D to be rather ineffective and pointless and on the whole, rather blah. It may be time for Captain Jack to relinquish his Captaincy before there's a mutiny from the fans. 7 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 18th May 2011
UK Release Date - 18th May 2011
Cast Overview:
Johnny Depp ~ Captain Jack Sparrow
Penelope Cruz ~ Angelica
Geoffrey Rush ~ Captain Hector Barbossa
Ian McShane ~ Captain Blackbeard
Kevin McNally ~ Joshamee Gibbs
Sam Clafin ~ Philip
Astrid Berges-Frisbey ~ Syrena
Director ~ Rob Marshall
Writer(s) ~ Ted Elliott (Screenplay, Screen Story and Characters), Terry Rossio (Screenplay, Screen Story and Characters), Stuart Beattie (Characters), Jay Wolpert (Characters) and Tim Powers (Novel 'On Stranger Tides')
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