Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Thoughts
Forgot to mention that I had been by to see this fourth installment of the Pirates franchise, and I only saw it on a 2D screen. Like Thor it was more about the convenience of the showing time than choosing not to see it in 3D. I didn't have high expectations with the movie, but as a fan of the franchise and the Jack Sparrow character it was a movie I had to try.
The first Pirates will always be my favorite, but what was wrong with the series and was evident in the special features of the first trilogy was never having the script done and them having to film without one in place, especially during the latter two films. And that hurt the franchise. While Dead Man's Chest was a darker, thriller-like take in that world, they introduced some interesting aspects to the series (Jack/Elizabeth connection, the whole crew willing to go to the ends of the Earth for Jack) that were immediately dropped/ignored in At World's End which went heavy on the scheming and betraying everyone plots.
When the promos came up for this one, i was worried that the chance of taking the franchise in another direction was going to get bogged down in another young couple of two worlds coming together around Jack, this time with the young man (who turned out to be a priest/holy man?) and the mermaid. Thankfully that was not a huge part to the film outside of the need of tears for the fountain of youth ritual. I was excited to see how the movie treated mermaids, keeping their beautiful visage but introducing a deadly siren aspect especially in how they treat pirates. The on land Little Mermaid legs moment with Syrena was unexpected but I think brings an interesting twist to mermaids blending in out of water (once they get their land legs of course).
One thing I liked about about Jack Sparrow in this movie unlike the third was he was less silly and it was back more to the fun, slick, lucky but incredibly skilled Jack outsmarting folks instead of doing just zany things that somehow worked. That beginning part with him pretending to be a magistrate and judging on Gibbs who was mistaken for Jack was just hilarious. It was a good way to bring back Gibbs, and having Jack show up to save him (showing his kindhearted side) while staying away from Port Royal and all the history there.
Perhaps the best thing to have come out of the third film was the relationship between Barbossa and Jack. The bad blood had been finished with Jack getting his revenge in 1 and then Jack dying in 2, and they were now back to the adversarial relationship that took another step in this one when they worked together to get the silver chalices - it was almost like they were brothers, forever intertwined and trying to better the other.
Blackbeard was definitely a menacing villain, especially with the hauntingly way he controlled the ship (with the reveal of the sword as the source of his power - which was really cool). Also his collection of ships, including the Black Pearl in the tiny bottles was a nice touch. And while I wish they had been able to bring back Zoe Saldana as Anamaria, I was surprised by how well Penelope Cruz worked as Angelica. She had a nice chemistry with Jack and she downplayed her accent which helped with the flow of the dialogue. The only thing I didn't like about Angelica was her finding the voodoo doll of Jack at the scene after the credits but I understand they need something for her to have over Jack to carry through the next eventual movie.
Also I don't know how many people noticed it but two officers from the previous trilogy also made their return in this one, Gillette (from 1), and Groves (from 3), as officers under Barbossa. And I thought Keith Richards had a much better performance as Jack's dad in this one. It was a fun movie and I can't wait to own it and see it again. :)