The first Pirates of the Caribbean struck me as having potential to be one of the worst films ever made. Jerry Bruckheimer making a movie based on a theme park attraction? In a genre that hadn't really worked since the days of Errol Flynn? Starring Johnny Depp, who was talented but had made far more bad films than good ones in his career? (in fact, pre-Pirates I think Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood were the only films I had liked. No, I haven't seen Benny & Joon. Yes, I have seen Chocolat, and I really did not care for it) But the result was a delightful, witty adventure film, with Depp dazzling with a hilarious and completely unique performance.
The sequels were still fun on their level, but they suffered from all of the standard sequel problems. A "bigger is better" mentality that just meant throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks instead of telling a strong story. And they also had the problems inherent to shooting sequels back-to-back (much like the Back to the Future or Matrix sequels), namely that part 2 merely felt like a setup for part 3. And I personally felt it was a miss step to turn Pirates into a Lord of the Rings style epic trilogy. I thought Captain Jack Sparrow might be better suited stand alone adventures more in the vein of Indiana Jones or James Bond. That's the approach taken by the latest installment, On Stranger Tides, and I feel that, for the most part, it works.
On Stranger Tides picks the story of Sparrow and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) searching for the Fountain of Youth, but drops the characters of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan, and all of the increasingly convoluted mythology surrounding them. This ends up leading to a more streamlined story that is fun and exciting. Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) has toned down the bombast of the last two chapters, and applied an overall lighter touch that, to me, comes closer to capturing the silly fun of the first movie. While I have to admit the sword fights aren't up there with the best in the earlier films, there are some great action sequences, and a particular chase with Sparrow running over the tops of carriages was, for me, worth the price of admission on it's own. A sequence wherein beautiful mermaids turnout to be quite deadly is also thrilling and inventive. I credit some of the smooth flow of these sequences to legendary film editor Michael Kahn, Oscar-winning editor of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kahn is one of three credited editors (he is credited with "Additional Editing", but I felt like I saw his hand prints all over this one).
Penelope Cruz, as an old flame, now rival of Jack Sparrow, is a more than welcome addition to the cast. Her chemistry with Depp is terrific, and she adds a fire to the movie that is very entertaining. The new beautiful young couple, a missionary and a mermaid, are a poor substitute for Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, lacking in much a story, or individual personalities (I don't especially blame actors Sam Claflin and Astrid Berges-Frisbey, who are perfectly fine. The characters, especially his, are just dull). Kevin McNally continues to be fun as Gibbs, Sparrow's first mate, and Ian McShane is an enjoyably nasty Blackbeard. For the first half Geoffrey Rush seems a bit misused, as if the filmmakers don't know what to do with him, but this improves later on. But, as always, it's Depp's movie, and Jack Sparrow is still a delightful goofy and whimsical presence.
This is definitely a movie for fans of the franchise, and I count myself among those. It's not going to win over anybody new, and it may or may not bring back your enthusiasm if you're a bit burnt out on it. I was burnt out on Pirates, and I felt On Stranger Tides helped reinvigorate the franchise and remind me why I loved this so much in the first place. It's nothing new or innovative. It's part 4 in a franchise, after all. But I had a great time, and am already looking forward to seeing it again.
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