A Better PotC Movie Than Most People Will Give It Credit For

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2012)

When a film franchise has made as much cash as Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, you know it'll take more than the end of a trilogy to put it to rest. I guess I always sort of knew another movie would make its way to theaters, but I admit I was still surprised when Disney announced a brand new sequel four years after the complicated conclusion of AT WORLD'S END. Well, when a new movie is inevitable, all we can do is hope they fix the mistakes of the first few movies without making rather than just horribly botching what was once an entertaining, if overly complex, series. Captain Jack Sparrow returns to continue the journey hinted about at the end of the last film: the search for the Fountain of Youth. After narrowly escaping arrest in London, Sparrow learns that there is an imposter posing as him in an effort to scrounge up a crew. His investigations land him enslaved on the Queen Anne's Revenge as part of Blackbeard's crew. The infamous pirate and his first mate Angelica (his daughter and one-time lover to Captain Jack) are in search of the Fountain of Youth before a prophecy can be realized: it has been foreseen that a one-legged man will kill Blackbeard. That one-legged man is none other than Captain Hector Barbossa; no longer a pirate, Barbossa sails for England as a privateer. The race is on as Blackbeard, the English, and the Spanish hope to be the first to the Fountain.
To start, I can't be the only one who doesn't think this isn't the worst film in the series. In fact, I actually really liked it. It's definitely better than AT WORLD'S END, and I'd say it's at least as good as CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL. I enjoy this film because it doesn't over-extend itself with a multitude of story lines, dozens of supporting characters, or overzealous special effects. This movie feels more like a straightforward pirate adventure film. It does maintain a handful of supernatural aspects, but you expect a couple bits of mysticism in a good pirate movie. Whereas the first three movies always felt as if there was way too much going on, the story here is simple: a race to the Fountain. I admit it's a little sad to have a PotC movie without the Black Pearl and her crew, but the movie hints that we should be seeing her again in any future sequels (which I suppose are guaranteed with the roughly $1 billion worldwide box office this film pulled in). The movie is a lot of fun, with enough action scattered throughout to keep the adventurous pace. For whatever reason, I actually didn't care for the film when I first saw it in theaters (the wasted 3D didn't help the matter). I realized it's because I went in expecting another bloated, colorful PotC that I've grown accustomed to, and ON STRANGER TIDES breaks from that mold with a simplified, darker pirate adventure tale. I've since come to find the fourth movie as one of my favorites.
You know what I really loved about this movie? No Kiera Knightley and no Orlando Bloom. Good riddance. Their characters, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, are primarily responsible for what is wrong with the first three movies, in my opinion. Those fact that these two incredibly boring individuals were such pivotal roles dragged the series down. But now they're gone! Thank God for the Flying Dutchman. Not only did they do away with the two weakest characters, but they brought back one of my favorites (Barbossa). Next to Captain Jack, Barbossa is the greatest part of the series (probably because he less goofy and more.uhmpirate than Sparrow). Ian McShane makes an even better villain as Blackbeard. If you've ever seen HBO's "Deadwood", you know McShane can do stone-cold. Give him a cutlass and a supernatural pirate galleon and you've got yourself an awesome baddie. Penelope Cruz is Blackbeard's daughter Angelica. She's infinitely hotter than Elizabeth Swann ever was, plus she's got a fiery personality that Knightley could've only dreamt of in her time with PotC. The movie misfires a bit by giving a preacher and the mermaid he loves a little more screen time than necessary, but it only slows the story down minimally. I really don't know why more people enjoy this movie for what it is. Kudos to screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio who've been with this franchise from the beginning and took a chance to change up the routine we've all grown so used to. At this rate, I'd probably support a fifth installment if Johnny Depp is up for another round as Captain Jack Sparrow.