I had always known that I liked the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. That was easy to figure out, and I knew it about ten minutes into my first viewing of the film. The second one was neither here nor there with me, but I had a lot of fun with the third, At World's End. All in all, it was a comfortable and fun property that spat out a completely watchable trilogy and wrapped everything up nicely by the time the final credits rolled.
But then comes along the curse of pursuing more box office dollars, taking a property that had run its course and deciding to return to it because it was recognizable and ensured good return on investment. There was no reason at all to tell another tale of Captain Jack Sparrow. We knew that he was still up to adventure when last we saw him, and that was a nice send off. He would keep his shenanigans going until the day he died. We could live with that and create our own sense of what it was that he would be up to.
The point I am getting at here, is that there was no immediate need to return to this universe. Director Gore Verbinski had taken the reigns and told a tale, and then adequately finished it. It was a story that was contained, but left open ended. That's great stuff to be able to pull off. Let it rest, let it lay down and slumber, living on in collector's hearts on the DVD and Blu-ray shelf. To dust it off and return to it could end up meaning a forced story that just works to serve as a vessel for further sales.
And that is what I found with On Stranger Tides. The story finds Jack Sparrow in London and captured with a mission to find the fountain of youth. Of course, Captain Jack Sparrow doesn't stay shackled for long, and escapes in an over the top sequence, much more over the top than anything we have seen previous. This sequence sets the ground for the far right escapism that we will be in for in the rest of the film. I am not trying to say that the first three were realistic, but they were still somewhat contained in what they attempted to pull off. Sparrow was a clumsy-yet lucky fool with some level of brilliance, not a complete master of all things action.
This is part of the problem with On Stranger Tides. They seem to have forgotten who Jack Sparrow was and what made him special. It is Sparrow for the sake of Sparrow. In some odd way it reminded me of the transformation of Dr. Henry Jones Junior in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He has become something that he was not before, and that leads to the emptiness that can be felt while watching it.
Joining this adventure is Penelope Cruz as the former love interest of Sparrow and the daughter of notorious pirate, Black Beard. Playing Black Beard is Ian McShane. I have been a fan of McShane since seeing him play cold-hearted mobster Teddy Bass in Sexy Beast. He does well as a pirate, that is for sure. There can be some credit to director Rob Marshall in shooting how Black Beard is framed, making him appear to be a legend that is larger than the myth.
A theme that reappears from the original trilogy is the amount of characters involved and all of their own personal reasons for following the plot and motivations for action. It became a little too much in At World's End, and here it feels like it is in there just because the other movies had it. There is nothing wrong with some simplicity from time to time, and the script probably could have been better served if it stayed with that.
Like the other films, there is a great attention to the costumes and sets, something that is warmly welcomed. It helps counter balance some of the fantasy elements and over the top action. It places the viewer in the world and keeps them there through keeping shots from appearing too doctored and altered. This has been a strength of the entire franchise, and it is nice that they did not stray from that in the fourth movie.
I do wish that I could say that there were a lot of things that stood out in this movie, but that is not the case. It felt, to me at least, as though it was just an exercise in repetition. The score wasn't enhanced in any way. The dialogue was functional, but not electric as it had been in the past. Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) wasn't the stand out character that he had been in the past. And, as mentioned, Jack Sparrow is something that he was not before. There was just something off about him. His motivations were not as solid and his actions were not similar to what they had been in the past.
Perhaps I am being too hard on this movie and making it seem like it is a complete waste of time. That's not the case. It has some redeeming qualities in the visuals and a few of the performances, namely Ian McShane. It is just not enough to recommend the film. It lands in the area of not being good, but not being bad. That makes writing a review extremely difficult. A writer wants a muse that is of some extreme quality, making the words flow and criticism sharp and defying. With something like On Stranger Tides, I am handed something that is without salt and pepper, but still cooked enough to be consumed.
Rating - 2 out of 4 stars
I did not know you were so high on Ian McShane's performance here. I thought it was one of his weaker and he was quite flat. I also would not say the lack of simplicity was the problem but rather any real attention to all the moving parts to make the subplots the least bit interesting was the issue. I felt the missionary and mermaid story was Will and Elizabeth part 2 but without any of the heart or connection.
ReplyDelete