| Review by Scott Weitz |
May 16, 2011 |
Rating: PG-13 |
Running time: 137 minutes |
3 1/2 Stars |
 Jack is back in Disney's fourth big screen buccaneer adventure PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, which casts off the weird absurdities of the third film in the series while not quite living up to the charming magic of the original.
In a scrambling search for the legendary Fountain of Youth, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) contends with his longtime nemesis Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) as they both try to beat the infamous pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) to the prize. Complicating — or confusing — matters for Jack is the return of his old romantic flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who seeks the Fountain in her own attempt to redeem the murder-stained soul of her father. On top of it all, there are mermaids, a cleric and zombies, oh my — and all in 3D!
These tides aren't too strange, but their ebbing sense of fun and wit make for calmer storytelling seas than desired.
PIRATES: ON STRANGER TIDES, loosely based on Tim Powers' 1987 novel On Stranger Tides
in its adaptation of a hunt for the Fountain and Blackbeard's voodoo zombie crew, covers lots of new ground in very familiar style. Director Rob Marshall, previously considered the most unpredictable wild card in this new deal, fits his filmic style neatly into the existing series, neither diverting drastically from the three prior efforts nor truly distinguishing himself as the franchise's new master and commander. Marshall proves himself up to the challenge with aplomb, even with the burden of filming live-action 3D on such an epic scale as the series demands, and he avoids upsetting the boat by over- or under-directing the film. The result is a disciplined, respectful debut consistent with the franchise while not quite branding this chapter with his own indelible stamp. Gore Verbinski certainly made a much grander stylistic splash opening the series with THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL in 2003, but such welcome bravado turned to cinematic bombast by the end of DEAD MAN'S CHEST. Marshall may well have played his hand smartly for starters here if he returns for duty and raises the stakes to helm a fifth film because he's left stylistic room for expansion with his own eye.
He and series cinematographer Dariusz Wolski seamlessly blend the film's visuals with previous chapters, and there is an enjoyable reduction in CG visual effects given how over the top they became on PIRATES' last voyage. Extensive production shooting in Hawaii and London ground the film in a sturdy, non-virtual reality which aids believability in its somewhat convoluted tale. Granted, many such previous fantasy-CG sequences were replaced with a hefty cargo of hiking scenes through tropic jungles and over hilltops, so some viewers may miss touches of spectacle now replaced by slogging treks for treasure and a good amount of expositional dialogue along the way. Still, such tactile set pieces and locations happily prevent the 3D element from becoming an eye-poking gimmick throughout; in fact, the 3D may not have been used to its fullest effect here, as scenes like the underwater swarm of alluring mermaids exploit the depth illusion greatly, while many others relegate it to enhanced postcard viewing of exotic island locales. FilmEdge viewed the film at the outdoors (and drizzly) Disneyland World Premiere on May 7th and again at a recent press screening, and both times the 3D presentation remained sharply focused, pleasantly bright and colorful with no perceptible image flicker, so we give it high marks for its 3D-native production filming on a technical level. Wisely, Marshall composed shots and scenes correctly to avoid making the 3D effect a pain-in-the-cornea to watch, which should be a big relief to viewers wary of the price-hiking format at their local cineplex.
 It's undeniable: the presence of franchise star Johnny Depp will go a long way to filling theaters beginning this weekend as PIRATES: ON STRANGER TIDES opens, and his rum-staggered panache as Jack Sparrow will likely fill Disney's coffers with box office bounty once again. Yet it's fair to say Depp's magnetic persona does not keep this fourth film review-proof, since surprisingly Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's script short changes Jack's character a bit this time around. While Sparrow opens the main action by freeing his trusted shipmate Gibbs (Kevin R. McNally) from a London death sentence only to flee for his own life soon after, the backstory seems to have sailed on in his absence. Blackbeard enters the Disney franchise mythology as the ruthless high seas marauder who commandeered the Black Pearl away from Barbossa, thanks to some supernatural subterfuge. Meanwhile, an imposter posing as Sparrow in the London docks gathers a ship and crew to sail for the lost Fountain of Youth. This leaves Jack, usually the center-if-dizzied focal point of these PIRATES plots, reacting to a world lurching into action around and ahead of him. Sparrow sells tickets as the swashbuckling, rum-soaked mastermind of the franchise, and so he loses a bit of this conniving appeal if he's relegated to playing catch-up treasure hunting behind Barbossa, Blackbeard and Angelica. If the fourth film has a major flaw in its plot, shifting Jack Sparrow into this reactionary, more passive plot role is it. Will this declawing of Jack's character power sink the film? Doubtful, but neither does it boost its fortunes.
Though Elliott and Rossio steered well away from the existential absurdities which made AT WORLD'S END the vaguest of the prior trilogy, their fourth script sacrifices a little too much fun and whimsy to stick to its find-the-Fountain plot, and all the characters including Jack are a tad subdued by their story-advancing missions. Geoffrey Rush fares the best in this quest, as his immediate past — losing the Black Pearl and forsaking a pirate's life to join King George's royal navy as a privateer paid to find the Fountain before the Spanish do — relates directly and dramatically to Blackbeard himself. Barbossa alone possesses the fire in his belly to battle the scoundrel of the seas, while Sparrow's antagonist challenges are split between Hector, Blackbeard and Angelica, the woman from Jack's past. This only diffuses and dilutes Jack's motivations as a character — is he fighting for his ship, his life or his heart? — and while double-dealing may be one of his best skills, multitasking is not. Consequently Rush nearly steals Depp's thunder in select scenes, which is understandable if not right if Disney is to keep the award-winning actor returning as Barbossa, but it may be a slight shock to viewers who pay for all-Johnny-all-the-time. Still, it's Depp and Rush's best work together since 2003 which is an undeniable asset.
Playing against Jack's shifting priorities doesn't help co-stars McShane or Cruz either as their father/daughter relationship is tentative at best and quite unconvincing at moments. Borrowing from his days on DEADWOOD, Ian McShane seethes with glaring evil on-screen but the script fails to inform his character enough to turn threat into fear from viewers that Jack Sparrow will do anything but prevail in the end. Surprisingly, Depp's flirtatious romantic sparring with Penelope Cruz fails to generate the heat of their A-list pairing, as her loyalties are also torn between saving her father's soul and tempting Jack's body in their love-hate skirmishes. Given that Jack's primary antagonistic obstacle is now split between Blackbeard and Angelica, prompting two very different courses of action from him, he's never quite able to skewer both character targets through the center in his quest.
 While the arrival of the Caribbean mermaids adds a welcome and visually alluring element to this new story, the sidebar romance between a captive missionary Philip (Sam Claflin) and a smitten sea nymph Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) seems uncomfortable on either land or water. Being a holy man held hostage on Blackbeard's ship, Philip's budding love for Syrena remains spiritually platonic — perhaps with good cause as the mermaids prove to be beguiling man-eating temptresses — and so never has a chance to develop the romantic punch that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley delivered in their trilogy-spanning affair. Again, it's worth noting that the script's plot-advancing momentum severely undercuts both Philip or Syrena's character development considerably, so one shouldn't judge these capable young actors too severely for their results. They are a clear and obvious replacement pairing for the Bloom/Knightley element in the franchise equation, and function ably if unspectacularly in their roles.
Supporting nods are due to rocker Keith Richards in a brief cameo as Jack's father, Captain Teague, who returns for a spot of rum-toasting exposition and a hearty, laugh-earning punchline, and UK cinema character staple Stephen Graham, who isn't given the goods to really shine here but services the story well enough as deck hand Scram. Greg Ellis returns as the series' affably familiar Lieutenant Theodore Groves, and Richard Griffiths has fleeting moments of fun as the pompous windbag King George II in the London opening.
Angelica's Latin flair and Blackbeard's demonic treachery spice up Hans Zimmer's music this time around, as does the dazzling guitar work of Rodrigo y Gabriela interspersed through some themes, but overall this may be the franchise's least memorable score so far — it may fit the film's rising and falling dramatic tides suitably, but it's doubtful you'll walk out humming any of its new motifs.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES is a transitional film with all the advantages and flaws inherent in chapter advancing such a a box office-breaking movie franchise, though it hits many of the right notes for its role as light summer-launching entertainment. It's fun but could have been more so; entertaining but could have been more original after its decks had been mostly cleared of prior film plots; and epic in scope even if its relentless plotting does take some of the wind out of its sails. Johnny Depp delivers his wavering rogue Jack as reliably as ever, though a fifth film had better provide him with new story angles and challenges if Sparrow is to avoid turning stale with his devoted fans. There exists a definite spirit of adventure which the classic Disneyland ride inspired in the first PIRATES film which is fading on the horizon by this fourth journey, and pray the screenwriters and filmmakers seek out this legendary creative spark with renewed passion before setting sail on a fifth production, if only to keep "a pirate's life for me" the joyful motto of audiences and fans alive for a few more years of seafaring cinema in the Caribbean mapped out best in our hearts and imaginations. FilmEdge ranks ON STRANGER TIDES above AT WORLD'S END on its more earnest merits and bestows our rating of 3 1/2 stars for keeping the franchise's winning streak alive, if not fully exploiting its untapped creative potential to jump start the series completely once again.
Watch FilmEdge's celebrity interviews from the Disneyland World Premiere of PIRATES: ON STRANGER TIDES
Reverse course to FilmEdge's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES home port |
