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Pirates on the
Caribbean: On
Stranger Tides
is easily my
favorite film of the
franchise since
Curse
of the Black Pearl,
that’s a bit of a
back-handed
compliment. After
the mess that was
Dead
Man’s Chest
and
At
World’s End,
two of the most
disappointing movies
ever in my book,
it’s not hard to
impress with this
franchise.
On
Stranger Tides
eliminates Kiera
Knightly and Orlando
Bloom’s characters
and focuses in on
Johnny Depp’s
Captain Jack
Sparrow. Although
it’s a far cry from
being as good as the
first movie, it’s
far better than the
two made before it.
On
Stranger Tides
finds Captain Jack
Sparrow in London
and trapped in a
corner. Unless he
agrees to set out on
an expedition to
find the fountain of
youth he’ll be hung.
He escapes the
jeopardy of being
hung, only to set
out on the
expedition himself.
After a rough night,
he finds himself
among the dreaded
pirate Black Beard’s
crew. Black Beard is
out to find the
fountain of youth
because he’s in to
Voodoo and his
personal
zombie/voodoo
prophet has
proclaimed that
Black Beard isn’t
long for this world
and will be killed
by a one-legged man.
Meanwhile, Depp’s
old foe Barbosa
(Geoffrey Rush is
brilliant again
here) is after
Blackbeard because
the evil pirate sunk
his ship and nearly
killed him. It seems
like everyone is out
to get the fountain,
the Spanish are
trying to get to the
fountain and Jack
has to beat them to
it.
On
Stranger Tides
is written by the
same duo that wrote
the last two Pirate
messes. The best
question available
is why? The last two
movies were plot
disasters. While
this movie proves to
be an enjoyable
watch it almost
flops because those
two wrote another
mess of a movie
that’s hard to
follow and easier to
find holes in than
Swiss cheese.
Bruckheimer and the
two learned their
lesson by focusing
in on Jack and
lightening the load
of repeat
characters, but they
failed because they
made things too
elaborate for their
own good again.
There’s about thirty
minutes here that
could have focused
in on something else
in a different way.
Director Rob
Marshall did the
best he could and he
made a good-looking
film same as Gore
Verbinskie’s, but
there’s too much
going on with
On
Stranger Tides
and
if it weren’t for
Depp, Geoffrey Rush,
and Ian McShane
acting
spectacularly, this
movie would have
been terrible.
The look and sounds
of these movies has
never been the
problem. The
cinematography and
the sounds have
always been
exceptional and the
transfer to Blu-ray
for the fourth film
is perfect too. This
film might not look
the best of the
three but it looks
the most unique due
to the new director.
Say what you want
about this film,
just don’t blame
Marshall for its
shortcomings or any
of the special
effects crew for
that matter. It’s
well made, just not
completely
well-written.
Like a lot of other
movies these days
the true extras
package gets bundled
with the 3D release.
The 2D Blu-ray
release only
features three bonus
features. It
features the great
iPad/Disney Second
Screen viewing mode.
It also features a
director’s
commentary and some
very humorous Lego
shorts that the kids
are sure to enjoy.
After that, there
are no other
features and that’s
a bit of a drag, but
the three bonus
features here are
excellent so that
helps make up for
it.
Pirates of the
Caribbean: On
Stranger Tides
is more entertaining
than the previous
two movies because
there are fewer
characters to focus
on. However, the
writers didn’t learn
their lesson and
made a plot line
overly elaborate. If
there’s a Pirates 5…
and let’s face it…
there will be… this
franchise needs some
new blood in the
writing room and a
more direct
approach.
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