Despite all the claims that “At World’s End” would be the last of Jack Sparrow’s escapades, the promise of booty in these waters was enough to tempt both Disney and super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer. After all, despite lukewarm receptions from critics and most movie-goers, the second and and third films in the series earned Disney in the region of a billion dollars each. And so, having dropped Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and director Gore Verbinski, the pirates set sail once more with Bruckheimer promising a style closer to the swashbuckler spirit of the original. Aside from “Chicago” director Rob Marshall, new crew members include heavyweights Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane, next to Geoffrey Rush returning as Barbossa and of course, the one and only captain Jack. Far from a face-lift however, the end product reeks of a dead formula and will have eyes rolling with yet-another-pointless-sequel dissatisfaction.
Picking up with a loose end from “At World’s End,” “On Stranger Tides” begins with Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) captured and brought before King George (Richard Griffiths whom you may remember from the “Harry Potter” series) in London, charged with assisting expedition to the Fountain of Youth led by the now peg-legged, wig-sporting and privateering Barbossa. Sparrow being Sparrow and the British guards being incompetent as ever, Jack escapes but instead ends up on “The Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of notorious pirate Blackbeard (McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Cruz), who are both after the fountain as well, for different reasons. The fountain, it is said will grant eternal youth to whoever drinks from it. Along the predictable routes of the quest, there’s zombies and mermaids to be fought, Blackbeard’s temper to fear and Depp’s still damn good comedic timing to contend with. Penelope Cruz is without doubt the best addition to the cast; she’s a good counterpart to Depp and the pair would have considerably more chemistry if the plot permitted it. Your ability to tolerate their nonsense will depend largely on whether you found Depp’s Sparrow charming in the first place but together their interplay amounts to all the film can muster in entertainment.
The actual fountain plot feels extremely tired in its entirety. Even though he’s an excellent choice to play Blackbeard, Ian McShane’s role can never top Bill Nighy and with the exception of one clever scene in which six pistols are laid out, there’s no evil to be felt. What drives him, why is he so evil? This is what made Davey Jones and Barbossa so compelling and Blackbeard has nothing to serve up in return. A romantic sub-plot involving newcomers Sam Claflin and French model Astrid Berges-Frisbey as cleric and mermaid respectively is equally devoid of all life, never mind believability. Perhaps worst of all, “On Stranger Tides” never leaves a moment to breathe, it tries to pile action upon action, as long as it’s always loud, with plenty of crash bang, people will be entertained, right? All these points draw inevitably to the main x everyone will mark on the map (enough with the pirate puns already!) as to reason for all this mayhem.
Marshall has his hands full, trying to keep the huge, lumbering ship on course but can never muster enough style to inject a breath of fresh air. But then, the director was never the problem of this series. The blame must be decidedly laid at the door of screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. The pair have become entangled within the mechanisms of a genius idea they once created, their personal fountain of inspiration dried up. While “Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End” were over-laden with confusing (but nevertheless interesting) storylines, the fourth entry is more straight forward in its quest plot but the dialogue feels tired, the puns lame and what little drama remains serves purely to move characters between action sequences. These set-pieces too simply feel like a rehash, from an early sword fight, suspiciously reminiscent of the workshop fight in “Curse of the Black Pearl,” and event the fountain set has reminiscences of the Isla deMuerta. Where is a three-way sword fight equivalent? Where is an all-powerful villain? Where the indomitable monster? And where, oh where is any sense of adventure and pirating spirit? Whether or not this extra dumbing-down is truly the fault of Elliott and Rossio or if pressure existed from Bruckheimer and Disney we will probably never know, this is an assignment they (or anyone else for that matter) should never have boarded.
One of the most offending aspects of “On Stranger Tides” is the original score by Hans Zimmer. Having provided a grand and epic score for “At World’s End,” the only word suitable to describe this music is disaster. Not only is it mixed at excessively high and headache-inducing levels throughout the film, it is largely a copy-and-paste job from the previous three. The much publicised collaboration with guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela to illustrate the latin flair, amounts a minimal amount of score and is extremely uninteresting. Blackbeard’s theme is what one can freely term “Inception” while the only motif of interest for the mermaids borrows heavily from “Angels & Demons.” Zimmer’s application of themes is entirely nonsensical in its rationale. Why exactly is the theme for Beckett or the love theme for Will and Elizabeth present here is anyone’s guess. To top it off, the album presentation features under 30 minutes of score complemented with several (and all terrible) trance and dance remixes. If you thought the rubbish at the end of the “Dead Man’s Chest” album was bad, think again. Even Zimmer’s most hard-core fans have complained about this product. Run away, run away, run away!
Yes, “On Stranger Tides” is just another pointless sequel. Sadly, even the worst “Pirates” yet sets up another sequel at its end that will probably see another film or being made. The box-office reception (though bulged by 3D prices) would confirm the necessity for this to Disney. But really, it’s time to lament and reach for your “Curse of the Black Pearl” DVD.
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What did you make of Captain Jack’s latest adventure? Please do leave a comment if you agree with my review or if you don’t. Also please follow me on Twitter and share the review with your friends. Thanks and all the best!
Will
Jun 15, 2011 @ 21:38:34
I’m with you on that sad sack of a score, but actually I found much to like in the film. I thought Depp and Rush turned in their usual great performances and the intrigue of the fountain quest was driving and Indiana-Jones-style fun. Agreed that Blackbeard wasn’t what he should have been. I actually think if that one aspect of the film had been stronger (the villain) then the entire thing would have left a much better aftertaste for all the film’s critics. Still, I enjoyed it as a one-off adventure and hope they’ll manage better next time. I’m still up for more Pirates if they can at least be this fun. Now if they can muster a story to match again, that would be something to see! 3.5 stars
Johannes Ruckstuhl
Jun 15, 2011 @ 22:21:22
I agree with you on the Indiana Jones vibe but truthfully, Indy 4 managed better despite all its problems. But that’s a very interesting point about the villain. It’s sad in a way because Blackbeard is really the pirate everyone knows and such an opportunity was missed. I still believe Ian McShane could have been wonderful in the role.
I do think 3.5 is very generous but agree that some minor tweaking could have made a very big difference.
Thank you for the comment!
Awesome Barnhart
Jun 15, 2011 @ 22:01:25
Superb review, I’m definitely going to wait and see this on DVD. I’m not expecting anything good from it, because of how bad the last two were. They took the idea from a ride at the Disney park, one movie was enough, four now that’s just pushing it.
Johannes Ruckstuhl
Jun 15, 2011 @ 22:18:05
Thank you!
One movie was plenty though I still find 2 and 3 to be guilty pleasures. Stupid but fun (I think *** or so would be the rating).
You’ve made me anxious to see “Midnight in Paris”! I’ll write you an e-mail soon, some stuff to catch up with 😉
oeuf
Jun 15, 2011 @ 22:02:22
Is it horrid that I kind of liked it? I mean, it was terrible, really, honest to goodness terrible, and yet for some reason I was glued to it the entire time. It was probably the ten dollars I heaved over for a ticket.
Still, it was mildly entertaining trash, if still trash.
Cxx
Johannes Ruckstuhl
Jun 15, 2011 @ 22:14:32
I don’t think it’s horrid. I mean it had it’s moments – mostly the London scenes were fun and the *spoilers* ending where he leaves here on the beach with one shot *spoilers* got a laugh out too. I must say that I find 2 and 3 to be guilty pleasures, much more than this.
Thanks very much for the comment and the like!