Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Certified: PG
Directed: 137 minutes
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin McNally, Richard Griffiths, Stephen Graham, Sam Claflin, Ástrid Bergès-Frisbey, Gemma Ward
KRS release
On Stranger Tides has a stronger plot to the previous two films in The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. This film is successful in parts; just like a theme park ride, the film flies when things are rolling along in action-fantasy mode.
With Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow along for the ride, the audience is guaranteed a hero who is likable, mischievous and very unpredictable. The film stumbles along whenever the action stops and the sequences in between really dampen the film’s flow.
Under Rob Marshall’s direction – a director more known for his musicals (Chicago, Nine) – the franchise opts to move away from some of its staple marks.
Gore Verbinski, the director of the previous three films had raised the epic factor to an ultimate level, so much so that the characters had become swamped in the never ending special-effects spectacle that the franchise had become. Welcome is the fact that the special effects as a whole have been downscaled a little as in the last film these had become over-the top and overwhelming to the eye.
On Stranger Tides, suggested by the award-winning novel by Tim Powers, has more cohesion to it and a better sense of structure. It is still as frivolous as the entire franchise, but it seems to be much more fun.
At the start of the film, Captain Jack Sparrow is stuck in London, trying to find both ship and crew. Not before long he ends up in trouble. He is caught by Angelica (Penélope Cruz) who is a past lover of his and has a ship. She wants him to show her the way to the fabled Fountain of Youth. Along for the ride is her father, the pirate Blackbeard (a splendid Ian McShane).
On their heels is the one-legged Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) who is now a privateer to the King of England and wants the fountain for himself, but more than that he has an axe to grind with Blackbeard.
The film has several sequences which are very entertaining with the carriage chase in London and the mermaid attacks on the pirate ship being the film’s highlight. The mermaids as brought to the screen are a veritably alluring but also dangerous, making them almost as if they were vampires of the ocean.
What I found lacking in this fourth outing was Keira Knightley’s freshness. Keith Richards and Judi Dench both delight us with splendid two- minute cameos. Astrid Berges-Frisbey excels as a scared mermaid who needs to produce that all-so-essential one teardrop.
Penélope Cruz is appropriately minx-like as she battles Johnny Depp all the way, but her character can never achieve the same attraction that Captain Jack Sparrow possesses. Unlike Mr Verbinski, Mr Marshall seems more interested in making a pirate film and it shows with all the swordfights that ensue. Like the musicals he has directed, the choreography here is well-planned and the fights and special effects are always entertaining.
Visually, the film is crisp and polished with a feast of colours that makes it quite appealing to the eye. Propelled forward by the robustness of Hans Zimmer’s music, the film will please the audience it is aiming for and also fill up quite a few doubloons in its coffers. It does have a sense of déjà vu to it, as the Indiana Jones influence rides a little too heavily.
On Stranger Tides shows that the franchise still possesses a set of strong sails, but Disney should beware of not blowing too much wind into them.