Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Rob Marshall of Chicago fame takes on the fourth installment in the series. Pirates 4 centers back on Captain Jack Sparrow of course, played by Johnny Depp obviously, who teams up with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to locate the Fountain of Youth. Conflict arises when they come across the vicious Blackbeard (played by a terrifying Ian McShane, who certainly takes the Disney franchise to a whole new level...), and his stunning daughter, Angelica Malon (played by a bad ass Penelope Cruz). The quartet embark on the quest battling numerous dilemmas along the way.
Now I'll admit, I have NEVER EVER been a big fan of this franchise. I find these films to be quite boring to be honest. BUT. My father happens to be a die hard sailor and an enormous fan of the franchise. So every year they come out around the month of May, which is when my father's birthday is, so... I take him to go see it everytime. I even saw the first film in the cinema three times believe it or not, against my will of course... I even have the first three on DVD! So. I am no stranger to the series. The first one was enjoyable and definitely gave me hope in Bruckheimer produced films... The second installment I thought was the best, and still to this day, believe this. The third one? Uh... The less spoken about it, the better. But then four years go by. They regroup. Eliminate pretty faces, Orlando Bloom and the ever so irritating Keira Knightley, and start off fresh with some new faces.
Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane are totally the stand outs in this epic. The two work well off each other so well, it's scary. Oh, how I love when they get REAL TOP KNOTCH actors in Disney films. Just makes it all the more exciting.
There are some bad ass action sequences in this film. What I loved about this installment was how UN-KID FRIENDLY it was. The killer mermaid sequence? That scene was one of the creepiest I have ever seen in a Disney film. The suspense was killing me. And it certainly delivered.
Now some of the other new faces that appear are not half bad either. Stephen Graham (one of my favorite actors) is hysterical and wonderful as always. Richard Griffiths is very entertaining as the bubbly King George in the opening.
Now, you can't have a big Hollywood Bruckheimer film with out at least a couple pretty faces right??? Since they scrapped Bloom and 'Long Chin' Knightley, they replace them with English actor, Sam Claflin (who was recently seen on the shit show, The Pillars of the Earth), and Spanish actress, Astrid Berges-Frisbey (there's a name for ya), who plays one of the killer mermaids that has been kidnapped by Blackbeard to show them all to the Fountain of Youth. Her and Claflin begin to... yup, yup. You called it. Fall in love... Awwwwww. But honestly. They were not nearly as annoying as I coulda sworn they were going to be from looking at them in the big poster.
The major complaint I had about this film however... would have to be Jack Sparrow's introduction in the opening (nothing beats his intro in Dead Man's Chest. Poor little bird...). I mean, he's disguised as a judge to infiltrate the court? YAWN! I mean, don't get me wrong. There were plenty of flaws in this film. I didn't even enjoy Depp in this film that much at all. He's just making money at this point and sort of seemed cocky on screen. McShane and Cruz are the true stand outs.
So if you love the franchise, definitely go see this film. You shouldn't be disappointed. But don't look for anything more but big explosions, crazy mermaids, mindless entertainment, and some cool performances.
SINCERELY,
FILMBOY
ENTRY QUOTE:
"You cannot live your life looking at yourself from someone else's point of view." - Penelope Cruz
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