And Really Bad Eggs....

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2011)

Upon hearing the announcement for Pirates of the Caribbean, I had to ask myself: "Is this a way to milk the franchise some more or was it to redeem themselves for the horrid At World's End?" After much pondering, I'm going to say both. Does the fourth one make up for their last abomination or has the cow's udder had finally fallen off?
First and foremost, the Pirates is about fun and what imagination is brought to the screen. This time, the imagination is bent on finding the Fountain of Youth. It's apparent right from the very first frame, and we are constantly reminded about the Fountain Youth from Scene 1 to Scene End. It's said in every sentence of dialogue between characters. I have expected a narrator to say in every scene, "And so our heroes search for the Fountain of Youth..." in case we the stupid audience has forgotten about what they were after.
The film pits Captain Jack Sparrow pretty much forced to find the Fountain of Youth against his will by his ex-girlfriend Angelica and her father Captain Blackbeard (played by Ian McShane, and I enjoyed every scene he was in), and meanwhile, Captain Barbosa (once again played by Geoffrey Rush in his memorable performance) and his crew. I'm not really sure what their motivations are for finding the Fountain of Youth. Captain Jack just wants his Black Pearl back, and the rest, well, I guess they just want eternal youth.
Along the way there is swashbuckling, mermaids who kill people, zombies, bad people, and banters between Captain Jack and Captain Blackbeard. I must say the actions sequences this time around are creative, and I would be lying if I said that they weren't thrilling. The first half of the film kinda dragged, but it picks up once they find the mermaids. However, it's like a trek through the jungle, and nobody really gets lost and they just happen to stumble onto the Fountain of Youth later on. As a friend of mine pointed out, that at least in At World's End, their journey seemed to be more deadly. They nearly froze to death and almost doomed. The stakes didn't seem to high on this one, other than being attacked by fish and Spaniards.
Another problem I had with this one is the direction. For a summer blockbuster, the scenes just felt a little slow moving, and the establishing of each scene almost made me not care of what the scene was going to be. The writing was good, and I think that's what saved it.
So why did I like this one? I just enjoy Johnny Depp's performance of Captain Jack Sparrow this time, and Rush's performance as Barbosa. I also really enjoyed Captain Blackbeard. The action scenes (though sometimes just come out of nowhere) kept me from falling asleep at the slow parts, and at least the film didn't feel like it was all over the place like its two predecessors. It has a clear focus, at least, and I liked how it doesn't stray far from that other than the needless romantic subplot between the clergyman and the mermaid.
If you are a fan of the franchise, then you are going to see this anyway. I'm not sure if the film will make more fans or not, but it's enough excitement to warrant my butt in the multiplex in the next installment whenever that comes out, savvy.