"On Stranger Tides" ends up configuring itself as a completely forgettable film, which wastes the base material, sounding like a repetition of what we have seen previously

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2020)

With the end of the initial trilogy that was widely applauded by critics and audiences, it was time for Disney to take new directions and explore other legendary characters from the seven seas, in addition to being able to focus more on its great star, Captain Jack Sparrow. Unlike previous films, which were filmed on locations in the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides was filmed on location in Hawaii. Its plot is inspired by the book "On Stranger Tides", by Tim Powers - which had already inspired LucasArts' game The Secret of Monkey Island - and features Captain Jack Sparrow looking for the Fountain of Youth and confronting the legendary pirate Blackbeard. It is the first film in the series to be directed by Rob Marshall, and not by Gore Verbinski. He is also the first to show fictional versions of historical figures, such as Blackbeard, George II of Great Britain, Henry Pelham and Fernando VI of Spain.
Even keeping the writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the loss of some characteristics of the previous films is notorious, however, also positive points can be observed. During the simultaneous recordings of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Chest of Death" and "At the End of the World", the duo of screenwriters from the franchise found out about Tim Powers' book and, from now on, began planning for another film in the series, something that has already been made clear by the outcome of the third feature film, which showed us Jack Sparrow interested in the Fountain of Youth. Despite the overwhelming success of the first three films, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was already dead and buried in 2011, already having its ideal outcome in At the End of the World. It is evident that money speaks louder and that one more sequence would be produced. Although it works apart from its predecessors, we feel as if the work simply repeats the old formula, which is already exhausted, bringing absolutely nothing new, however much it seeks to portray another legend of the sea.
Although Johnny Depp remains great on paper, there is nothing else he can offer, tiring the viewer with his adventures that already sound like a joke told a thousand times. It is not known exactly why the writers are reluctant to develop Sparrow. He is gradually becoming a redundant and predictable character and this destroys the innovative spirit he had in the original trilogy. In this film, they had the perfect opportunity to evolve Jack's emotionality with Barbossa's condition, the reunion with Angelica, and the friendship with Mr. Gibbs - this has a very important role for the narrative.
We also have the excellent Ian McShane who gives life to the infamous and feared Captain Blackbeard, a recurring character in many legends involving the seven seas. McShane shows his talent and gives us another excellent antagonist for the confused Captain Jack Sparrow. Penélope Cruz has a good chemistry with Depp, as an ex-novice and disillusioned ex-girlfriend of Sparrow, but nothing that is memorable and that makes us believe that our dear Captain Jack Sparrow can even be tied by some woman in this world. However, Geoffrey Rush, like Barbossa, has lost much of its luster, even though it is characterized in a completely different way, something that could work to bring a sense of novelty, but that does not reach that point. The degree of repetition is such that some duels, such as that of Sparrow against Angelica, seem to have been copied and pasted from other films, this one, specifically, is almost equal to that of Will and Jack at the beginning of "The Curse of the Black Pearl".
In an attempt to avoid the confusion of the third Pirates of the Caribbean, each of the details of this new plot is explained in its details. A bet was made here for certain. Thus, the fourth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series goes around, goes up, down, jumps off cliffs, plays very lightly with the supernatural and makes fun of it, but ends up in the same place. So we learn that Blackbeard and Angelica want to get there to cheat death; Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) wants revenge on the one who left him one-legged; and the Spaniards and English have an unimportant religious feud that adds nothing to the plot and could have been left out without prejudice. In order not to miss the possibility of a little romance in the story, now that Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Will (Orlando Bloom) have agreed, the religious Philip (Sam Claflin) and the mermaid Syrena (Astrid Bergés-Frisbey) are on the scene. The presence of the two is much more ornamental than that of the previous couple, who made the plot move. Here, more than ever, the protagonist is Jack Sparrow.
One of the many negative points of the story is to leave the Pearl aside, which is by far the most iconic ship in the franchise, and bet on the Blackbeard ship. Locked inside his large collection of bottled vessels, Ian McShane's character holds the Pearl as an asset to one of his many won battles. Queen Anna's Revenge is a cursed ship, as in the past Sparrow's former ship was, and from the orders of its captain, who wields a kind of magical sword, the vessel comes to life and annihilates potential enemies. We also have the debut of countless other characters, such as "The Spanish", a service of the European country of the same name with a religious fervor, which states that only God can give someone the gift of eternal life. The Spanish antagonizes all the other characters in the film, and also seeks the Source, but with the intention of destroying it.
Director Rob Marshall also demonstrates that he does not have the same control as Verbisnki, wasting all the exquisite production design of the franchise, employing shorter and more closed plans, which remove all the sense of wonder and grandeur that we felt in the first three features. The director clearly has difficulty in making the action scenes with different characters and simultaneously, one of the marks of the series, as is the case of the final climax at Fonte da Juventude. Marshall is sometimes too exaggerated and fails to give actors accurate comic times; however, it makes correct action scenes, although they do not reach the feet of the grandeur of the previous three features (this may be deliberate, since this plot is much less complicated than the others, and is translated in a much more episodic way). The journey shown in the film is quite interesting, but the script unfortunately bets on a difficult path along the way, putting several extra things unnecessarily. What is seen, given Marshall's ability, is disappointing. Little has changed in relation to the visual work shown in the last film and in some points it is not rash to say that there was a significant loss of quality. The epic battles, which gave rhythm to the script, have now not been well planned and carried out, and many of them lack agility. Even the soul of the series, which was the explosive barriers between ships, were left out. In fact, the entire film lacks memorable action scenes that make it into the series. Among many other mistakes in the script, there are also shallow, easy and light solutions to various conflicts. For example, the unpredictable climax of the film that is resolved very quickly without the slightest development.
But it is worth mentioning that we have some very interesting scenes. The entire initial sequence set in the English capital is well-crafted, fun, action-packed and beautifully choreographed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine), the new director of the franchise. The escape plan improvised by Jack serves to remind the public of the genius that his ever-drunken style hides. The mermaid segment is the most interesting in the film - absurdly fantastic. The dialogues between Barbossa and Sparrow enrich the quality of the film. The few revelations of Sparrow's past also satisfy the viewer's curiosity. The select action scenes (such as obtaining chalices on the ship or even the final climax at the Fountain of Youth) are exciting and references to previous films are a gift for attentive viewers. Other than that, the marriage of the fictional narrative with the historical period is very well accomplished. There is also the hilarious transformation of Barbossa from pirate to privateer.
The special effects, like all the other chapters, are excellent. The photography of Dariusz Wolski, a professional who worked on the previous features, again impresses and gives personality to this universe. The CGI of the film is exceptional, especially in relation to the mermaids, giving a credible aspect to many things that happen during the course of the story. Again the soundtrack is spectacular. Hans Zimmer innovates a lot and makes the little more than two hours of film worth more for his majestic tracks than anything else. Blackbeard has one of the best themes of the franchise, Blackbeard (the character's name in English), and creatures like the mermaids and the locations where the coveted Fountain of Youth is also found, with tracks like Mermaids, Mutiny and On Stranger Tides. The themes used in the locations of Queen Anna's Revenge are equally great, and songs like The Pirate That Should Not Be and South of Heaven's Chanting Mermaids are used to delve deeper into the old relationship between Angelica and Jack.
"On Stranger Tides" ends up configuring itself as a completely forgettable film, which wastes the base material, sounding like a great repetition of what we have seen previously. As much as it is of considerably shorter duration than the previous ones, the work seems to extend for much longer. It doesn't reinvent the franchise and deepen characters, but anyway, it's always interesting to revisit this universe. For those who liked the initial trilogy, they'll be fully satisfied and have fun.