I really enjoyed but but............!!

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2011)

I have just seen this and I loved it mostly. Not as good as the others, but I didn't expect it to be. It exceeded my expectations in some ways, but disappointed me in others. It might seem over critical of me, when you read this review, seeing as I would give the first three 10 out of 10, and this an 8-9. I enjoyed it very much, but if I had to compare to others, it has to be marked down.
I thought Johnny Depp was again superb. As I adore Captain Jack Sparrow, (Johnny Depp) I had to see this regardless of what the reviews may say. A slight change in character in my opinion, but not a bad thing. The character Jack Sparrow is lovable and often mysterious, clever or lucky rogue, and this time his character opened up a bit more, to reveal more of his caring and genius side. Depp never disappoints. The only downside is that the trailers show the biggest and funniest one liners, and I always wonder why the producers do that? It's annoying!!
Rush was brilliant as "Barbosa" as he always is. He had a difficult role to play in this one. He wasn't full Barbosa until the end, because he couldn't be. It was a shame, but maybe it would have been too cliché if he had. It's a shame though, because I loved the character Barbosa, and in part that is what I wanted to see, but the story didn't allow it. That is not Rush's fault. He still played a blinder.
Gibbs was Gibbs. It was nice to see him back even if we didn't see much of him. Other characters were missed, which I *think* left a big hole for such small roles. Lee Arenberg (Pintel) and Mackenzie Crook (Ragetti) for example, that made a good double act, that increased the comedy appeal. There was to me, a lack of good supporting actors, and that was a real shame. This made me realise just how good these smaller roles were in the first three films. The supporting actors were instantly forgettable, which is a shame for them as much as the audience.
Penélope Cruz was superb in my opinion. A great actress in this, very believable and a great addition. I personally think she had the most to prove in this, having to take over *in a sense* from Keira Knightley. She did a great job. I know that, rather unfairly, Cruz was one of the characters that I was worried about, but she did brilliantly. She was sexy and feisty, and played the role very convincingly. There's great spark between her and Jack, and dare I say it, I think her role was more convincing than Keira's. Maybe that's unfair though, because clearly, they are two different characters. It was just a shame that her character seems to have been "plucked" by the writers like most of the others in this film.
Sam Claflin, was another new comer, and a new actor. One to watch out for in up coming films I think. I think he played a blinding part. Very sincere, hugely attractive. It does seem like he was a co-incidental part really, which is a slight shame. His character wasn't really explored enough, and I found myself wanting to know more about him. Maybe it was just simply clever directing, as to not give away too much to the audience, or maybe, they didn't want to over cook the role, making him a character filler for losing Orlando Bloom. Which like Cruz, is really what they were, character fillers. Either way, a great character, played by a skilled new actor.
Last but not least, Ian McShane as Blackbeard. He played a good role, but to me no where near as good characters as Barbosa in the first, and Davy Jones in the second and third. He basically had command of a "sword" that didn't really do much. He was "ruthless" right until the "end" but to me, it wasn't enough. His character was too shallow. Both Barbosa and Davy Jones were allowed enough time for the audience to fully discover them, and they were frighteningly interesting. Blackbeard wasn't a patch on that, and won't ever be either. His crew that he "zombified" were unconvincing to me. The whole "Blackbeard" bit was the biggest disappointment, and that is a shame.
This one lacked the special effects of the other three. I thought the film had two great bits. The first, in London where Captain Jack escapes as only Captain Jack does. Brilliantly lucky! The second was the Mermaids. Very good indeed, but not "spectacular" to me at all in comparison to the other three.
Will there be another? I'm not convinced. Cruz ends up left where Sparrow was left in the first. Barbosa returns to his post of captaining a ship with power, and Jack Sparrow ends up being older and wiser, with no "real" aspirations, other than just appreciating being a "Pirate" Never say never though. I would like for there to be another, but equally, I am satisfied with the one's we have now. Having lost some of the ingredients that made the first three superb, the forth one might just be enough now. The writers would have to really pull the cat out the bag to make a fifth in my opinion. They would have to resurrect a fair bit, but would that make it just a hash of the first three?
The success of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy has got to be all the ingredients though. That's everything from the main characters, to the supporting roles, special effects, writers, screen play and directer. This fourth instalment was stand alone for sure. With a change of directer, that's maybe how it should have been to survive a fourth instalment.