Very Solid Movie

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2011)

Memorial Day Weekend is usually when the Summer of Blockbusters truly kicks off. Recently the "summer" calendar has been bleeding towards easter, but Pirates marks this years first true mega movie event. The reviews have not been kind to the Disney franchise, nor was I too fond of the previous instalment. I was looking forward to a "reboot" with a few new characters, plots, adventures and an overall lack of the painful-to-watch Bloom-Knightly combo. After all, this entire franchise is built upon Johnny Depp and his portrayal of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. My internal Hype-O-Meter had been inching towards insane from the moment I found out Ian McShane (of the fabulous Deadwood) would be portraying the dread pirate Blackbeard. Pair him with the terminally underrated Geofry Rush returning as Captain Barbosa, and you had me at "Argh!". 2 hours and some minutes later I left the theater happy and entertained. A 4th installment had potential to feel played out, and that happened in a few small spots, but overall, it was a fresh take on a great set of characters. Gone was the CGI hilarity of "Worlds End". In its place was the character development, enthralling action and witty banter we have yearned for since "The Curse of the Black Pearl". I can honestly "On Stranger Tides" is my second favorite of the series. Can it maintain this pace for the entire second trilogy? I doubt it. But it left me wanting more. I was less than enthralled with Penelope Cruz' character, but there was no where to go but up from the tiresome "Elizabeth" portrayed by the vapid Knightly in all previous versions. We will discus my active hatred for 3D later, but ugly glasses aside, this movie is well worth the price of admission. It lives up to everything you would expect in a summer movie.