Movie Review: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES
When I first heard that Disney was going to make a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean, I rolled my eyes at the idea because I had no desire what-so-ever to watch another Pirates movie. The last two films that were released were just terrible, and killed any kind of excitement for any other films in the franchise. After watching the seemingly never-ending clips and trailers that have been released, my hardened Pirates wall began to collapse. The thought of zombie pirates, ruthless mermaids, and Ian McShane as Blackbeard the Pirate just sounded really cool. After finally seeing the movie, my negative Pirates wall completely broke down. I surprisingly enjoyed watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and I’m pretty sure you will as well.
The fourth Pirates film stands on its own. It doesn’t really touch on anything from the first three films, there’s no real story connection other than some of the characters. The film follows Captain Jack Sparrow as he goes on a adventure to find the fountain of youth. The movie played out like an Indiana Jones kind of story only it revolved around pirates instead of Indiana Jones and the Nazi’s. It had that same classic kind of adventure feel to it. The story was simple yet effective, and they didn’t go overboard on the special effects like they did with the other films. It had a good amount of special effects, but it wasn’t as loaded or massive as the other films. This new movie puts more of a focus on the story and characters, which is what the franchise needed.
Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush were both great, but we already knew they would be able to pull off the characters that they’ve already played over the year. I’m normally annoyed by Penelope Cruz, but she was actually good in the film, and fit the world perfectly. Ian McShane as Blackbeard the Pirate stole the freakin’ show though, he was awesome! This was one of those movie roles he was born to play. In fact I would love to see a movie based on Blackbeard and McShane take on that role again. He was just fun to watch and had an epic evil presence on the big screen.
My favorite part of the film involved Sparrow and the rest of the pirates trying to lure a mermaid in to catch it, because they need a mermaid to help activate the fountain of youth. The pirates end up being attacked by a horde of crazy beautiful vampire looking mermaids. It was really a fun and exciting sequence. I also liked how Blackbeard had a zombie crew, and that he was able to control his ship, that was also alive. The story had some very cool ideas and they were implemented into the movie very well.
I had a great time watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the film was really fun and overall pretty awesome. If I were to compare it, I think it’s just as good and entertaining as the first Pirates of the Caribbean film. If you have enjoyed watching these franchise movies then there’s no doubt that you’re going to love this one. If you are like me and didn't have a desire to watch the film, you might want to check it out, you may be pleasantly surprised. I recommed that you give it a chance.