Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – A little more Penzance than last time

In what might be called “Captain Jack and the Last Crusade,” we say goodbye to Will and Elizabeth Turner (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, respectively) and welcome a more expensive look, sadder settings, and a more puzzling plot. One benefit of the Pirates movies, though, is that no matter how twisted the story might get, and no matter how questionable things get, everything seems to fall into place. The franchise has always been firmly rooted in faith, spirituality, and things that seemingly happen for a reason, with the hint of a moral compass always guiding the way, so there’s room for the film to take turns. extravagant, as long as everything fits. On Stranger Tides is certainly no exception to this rule, but At World’s End (2007) had that market cornered.

I must say, and I know I’m one of the few, but I missed seeing Bloom and Knightley next to Johnny Depp. I’ve always taken them as the crux of the trilogy, especially since their stories were up front: them meeting, finding out more about their past, getting married, having a baby, etc., all while Captain Jack Sparrow gets into trouble and out of trouble. other. But, inevitably, her story came to an end in At World’s End, giving this film more of an opportunity to focus on Sparrow’s past: lost loves, old friendships, all of it. At the beginning of the film, Captain Jack (Depp, smart as ever) poses as a British judge to escape the gallows for crimes he may or may not have committed, although he probably did; he just isn’t ready to hang up for them. The beginning of the film tells us this: Jack is in London looking for a ship and a crew. This is true, but not in the sense that everyone thinks he is; in fact, he is an impostor posing as Jack. Her name is Angélica (Penélope Cruz) and she’s the only one with the guts to pose as the infamous captain and get away with it. She’s an old flame, or as close as Jack has come. Meanwhile, Jack searches for the Fountain of Youth. The catch is, so is the Spanish kingdom, the British Navy, led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush, back from the first film and barely alive), and Blackbeard (Ian McShane’s performance in the film), along with his daughter, Angelica. spoilers? Not really.

The franchise, fun as it is, is tired. It’s been tired since 2003 when we discovered The Curse of the Black Pearl. There shouldn’t be a second movie, or a third, and I like to think everyone recognizes the lack of need for a trilogy, but Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and At World’s End managed to give us a story that feeds off of the first and the second. third, as if forcing us to make a trilogy. On Stranger Tides feels like the finale, but Disney may still be threatening a fifth installment. With the financial success of the movies thus far, it would be a foolish bet to say they wouldn’t. It will be big, loud, expensive, Depp will be a lot of fun, the story won’t make much sense for most of the movie, and millions of bags of popcorn will be sold. all over the country. Sounds good.

Something that has bothered me since Dead Man’s Chest is the incomprehensible editing. Aside from the depth of the story, that’s what seems to have had the biggest drop in quality. Remember the quality of the sword fights in The Curse of the Black Pearl? Or how exciting it was to watch Orlando Bloom and Jack Davenport brawl on a giant treadmill? Okay, maybe that’s overkill, but that scene was brilliantly composed, even if it’s lacking in the logic department. One thing that makes or breaks action movies is editing. The pirates had that, then lost it, never to get it back. At least the quality of the cinematography, music, and art direction seems to be improving. The music here, composed by Hans Zimmer, is as alive as ever, and put to surprisingly good use, considering this is a Rob Marshall movie.

A note on Rob Marshall: He is possibly one of the most unpredictable directors alive. He did a masterpiece with Chicago (2002), but Nine (2009) was a miserable mess, and for anyone who saw his TV version of Annie (1999), well…sorry. Here, however, I would venture to say that he is back on the right track. This is not the best of the Pirates movies, far from it, but it has achieved minor success in his filmography. If there is a fifth movie, and they can’t convince Gore Verbinski to come back and do it right, then I hope they bring Rob Marshall back. It kept the movie lively and lively, and the final joke of the movie, a little delivery between Jack and Angelica, had me laughing for five or six minutes. A perfectly produced moment.

The performances are the bright spot. Depp has turned Jack Sparrow into a wonderful character. He has never made fun of the character; he believes in Sparrow with every ounce of his considerable talent and prevents it from being a repetitive disaster. His arrogance never feels forced, and he hasn’t for four movies now. It’s no wonder his first outing as his captain earned him his first Oscar nomination. Geoffrey Rush is obviously having a blast as Captain Barbossa, and Penelope Cruz remains one of the most compulsively watchable actresses alive. Her startling beauty and fast comedic timing are put to extremely good use; Marshall knows how to run it. The best performance in the film, however, comes from Ian McShane as Edward Teach (Blackbeard, as we’ve come to fear him); he’s slimy, despicable, but funny: the ideal Disney villain.