Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) by Robby O — 29 Oct 2012

We have all come to love these pirates and above all Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). A movie series that was originally starred in by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly, Depp has definitely become the star of these films. Johnny has really outdone himself with these movies and I have seen the lighter, more fun, side of him like some of his older work, namely Cry Baby and Edward Scissorhands. In an interview for Vanity Fair Magazine and he told them that out of all the characters that he has ever portrayed, Captain Jack Sparrow was by far his favorite. By watching the movies you can tell that he really does have fun with this character. On his adventures he has stolen treasure, defeated countless foes â" with nothing but a sword, and has even been cursed. The Captain has lived, loved, lost, and learned all along while outrunning the government for piracy.

Exciting, fast paced, and fun, Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides really made up for the failures of pirates two and three. Directed by Rob Marshall, On Stranger Tides is very strange compared to the three before it. The movie begins with Jack showing up in London in rescue of his trusted first mate Gibbs (Kevin McNally) from hanging. Sparrow ends up captured by some of the Kingâ(TM)s men and is forced to speak with the king himself. He is then tasked with the job of leading a group of men to the fountain of youth under a newly employed privateer â" Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). But as the Captain has done so many times before, he escapes. While hiding in a bar he bumps into women that he once had âstirringsâ? for. He then gets shanghaied and is put to work on the infamous Queen Anneâ(TM)s Revenge, the ship Captained by âthe one pirate all pirates fearedâ? Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Sparrow is no forced to lead Blackbeard and his long lost daughter, Angelica (Penelope Cruz) to the fountain of youth. Trying to outrun the Government appointed Captain Barbossa and the Spanish armada, Jack really has his work cut out for him.

This movie is unlike its predecessors in that Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom arenâ(TM)t in it. This fact was quite a bummer because of the way the third film ended. Adding Cruz was a good idea and there was definitely some good chemistry between her and Depp. In my mind there was really only one major flaw with them movie. It is the extremely underdeveloped third party to this film, the Spanish. We are introduced to them in the beginning of the movie and they decided that they are going to the fountain of youth after receiving information about the location of said water source. Then they just disappear into the background until they are needed again so that the Sparrowâ(TM)s crew can mess with them. Then once again to the background until they come and ruin everything, well sort of. One other skewed part of the plot was the romance between the mermaid Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) and the clergyman Philip (Sam Claflin). It was unprompted and didnâ(TM)t really make sense, just kind of popped out of nowhere.

Deppâ(TM)s performance was really good, very similar to his other movies, but with far less snarky remarks â" which I really missed. He had quite a few witty comments but not nearly the amount in the other movies. Despite this he really got me and much of the audience laughing for the majority of the movie. Sparrow has an odd and unpredictable way of doing things that keeps me waiting and watching for the next plot twist to unfold. He has such an interesting demeanor that you really get a sense that Depp is actually thinking the way that sparrow would and that he isnâ(TM)t scripted, it just seems natural. To say the least, Depp is fantastic and hasnâ(TM)t changed much of Jackâ(TM)s modus operandi for this outing.

Finally Iâ(TM)m proud of Rob Marshall for what he has done with this fourth installment in the Pirates franchise. Unlike Gore Verbinski and all of his blood, slaying, and skeletonized pirate crews, Marshall seems to glorify being a pirate and make it seem not as bad as Verbinski had. Not to say that the first Pirates wasnâ(TM)t good because in my mind it was the best, with this one coming second, it was just a nice change from the previous three. Using his musical skills, Rob choreographs his fights to almost bring lyrical grace to the mayhem that is sword fighting and swashbuckling. Utilizing Hans Zimmerâ(TM)s amazing score, the movie takes tying the music into the action to a new level. It really gets your heart beating in the tense parts and gives you a sense of relief in the resolutions. Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides was a really solid film and I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone who has liked any of the previous films, all I have to say is âYo-ho Yo-ho, a pirateâ(TM)s life for me.â?