Movies: Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

Score: *** out of *****

Long Story Short: The Pirates franchise's fourth entry, On Stranger Tides delivers a fun summer adventure. With Jack as the main character and a fairly long run time, however, it does drag a bit. Rush really does a great job with Barbossa, and there are some neat new characters, but unfortunately a few other (inferior) characters steal valuable screen time. Not a lot new for Pirates faithful, but it's an entertaining summer event.

Unfortunately, I'm taking a little longer than I'd like to see and then post review of movies this summer. Well, if you haven't seen it yet, here are my thoughts; and if you have, see if you agree with me. This Pirates movie is the fourth film in the immensely successful franchise, but it doesn't really continue any storylines from the previous movies. It was directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha), his first time at the helm for this series; Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush reprise their roles as mischievous pirates.

The film begins with Jack in London trying to free his old first mate, Gibbs, from a hanging. After running into some trouble of his own with the British government, Jack meets an unexpected old acquaintance, Angelica (Cruz). Angelica and her father, Blackbeard (McShane) are after the Fountain of Youth; as are the British and their new "privateer," Barbossa; and the Spanish. In need of a ship anyway, Jack agrees to go along.

After a surprisingly short time at sea (these are pirates, after all), each group reaches the island known to hold the Fountain of Youth. Blackbeard/Jack's group has a dangerous encounter with mermaids guarding the island - and we're not talking Ariel-type mermaids. Barbossa, meanwhile forges his way onto the island with little regard for the safety of his crew, intent on getting revenge on Blackbeard for his capture of the Black Pearl. After Jack is separated from Blackbeard and Co., he happens upon Barbossa and the two begin working together. By the end of the film, each group converges on the Fountain of Youth, and mayhem ensues.

There are several familiar faces in this Pirates, and a number of new ones that contribute nicely to the film. Johnny Depp is as good as ever as Captain Jack, although it feels a little strange in this one since he's really the main character for the first time. I think Depp keeps his acting restrained enough here that it doesn't get old, and then turns it on when needed. Barbossa, however, is the star of the show here, in my opinion. I found him to be even more humorous than Jack, and Rush really shines in his bigger role this time around. Ian McShane does a nice job as Blackbeard, but he doesn't actually have a lot of screen time; same for Penelope Cruz as Angelica. For other notables, Keith Richards has a scene, Gibbs is limited to the first part of the film, and there is a surprise (but a little awkward) cameo in the London part.

On Stranger Tides stays true to the theme of the franchise as a swashbuckling adventure story. The plot is more akin to the first film's this time, although, unsurprisingly, this is mostly just a skeleton for the rest of the fun. The action is well done here, with some entertaining sword fights (a Pirates trademark, but continued admirably) and more supernatural aspects. Blackbeard has a strange ability (fortunately, used sparingly), and the mermaids provide an interesting element. Most of the effects are also quite good, but the set of the climax is poorly designed (kind of cheap-looking to be honest) and kind of stands out. There is some pretty good humor here, led as previously stated by Barbossa, but there are some long stretches that could really have used some more/better efforts in this department.

***

I feel as if I've written a ***1/2 star review. However, this film is simply too long with not enough that stands out. The worst part is a subplot involving a cleric on Blackbeard's crew who falls in love with a mermaid. This is really just mini-Bloom/Knightley stuff, but done quite poorly and unnecessarily (plus, both actors kind of stink). If they had taken it out, this would probably be bumped to ***1/2. I really would have liked to have seen more from Blackbeard and Angelica, too. Barbossa's character seems a bit better suited to being a main character than Jack, but neither is a perfect fit. This film is certainly better than Thor, but there are a few things holding it back from a better score. A fun summer viewing, nonetheless.