Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides

Review by Reardon Jones

Captain Jack’s back in this the Fourth instalment of the hugely popular Disney franchise. 

This time he finds himself in search of the elusive Fountain of Youth. Whisked away as a crew member of the fearsome Pirate Blackbeard, Jack is now in a race with the Spanish and British fleets to claim the drink of immortality.

Johnny Depp plays the role of Jack Sparrow as well as he ever has, it’s almost too predictable to enjoy. 

The crazy stunts and moral situations he finds himself in are not really any different than the first three Pirates films. However, why would you change what has clearly been a winning formula.

There are only four returning characters for Stranger Tides, one of which is the amazing Australian actor hot off from his performance in The Kings Speech, Geoffrey Rush, who takes on a new leg as he reprises his role of Captain Barbossa - now finding himself in the service of King George.

Rush has progressively stepped up his performance across the series with Barbossa being one of the more loved characters. Having been the main antagonist from the first film he now takes on a role like the classic buddy cop movies of the 80’s as he and Jack find themselves on the same path towards a common goal.

Stranger Tides also introduces one of Pirate Mythologies most fearsome members : Captain Blackbeard.

Blackbeard is portrayed perfectly by Ian McShane. With Blackbeard being mostly myth, and not so much man, McShane was able to create a fearful character that you still think is pretty awesome, leading a crew of pirates towards the Fountain of Youth in the hopes of stopping a prophecy written about him.

Rounding off the all star cast is the ever gorgeous and stunning Penlope Cruz playing Angelica Malon a victim of Jacks Charm and a connection with Blackbeard that will find Jack in a bit of trouble. 

Cruz picks up were Kira Knightly left with being the main female character in what could become a new set of Pirate films.

The film itself is a little slow in places with not as much of the added humour that made the first three films a joy to watch. The action sequences are very similar to previous films with nothing really ground breaking and new to distinguish Stranger Tides from the others. 

For a series that has been very character reliant this was lacking in the development of the supporting cast. I guess that is easier to do when you are watching a part of a trilogy, but as a stand alone adventure, they struggle to develop those individual stories this time around.

The only thing that could possibly sink this franchise would be Johnny Depp. The whole concept and series is based so much on the effectiveness of his Jack Sparrow that you couldn’t see a Pirates film without him. I feel that with each instalment more and more focus has been put on Depps character leading the way to some stand alone Jack Sparrow quests.

With Depp saying recently at the Cannes film festival the he would continue for as long as the character was enjoyed by the public, a script for Pirates 5 already in the works, it looks like the franchise created from a ride in Disneyland will continue to blow the box office out of the water.

3 out of 5

Thor
Australian release: 19th May, 2011
Official Site: Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides
Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Sam Claflin, Geoffrey Rush
Director: Rob Marshall