I miss Will and Elizabeth

Rating: 6/10 (22 May 2011)

Let me get this out of the way first: Pirates 4 is not a bad movie. It's just not as crazy, silly and entertaining as the other three are (yes i'm even a fan of the third installment though i had to watch it twice to get it). First: it is supposed to play in the Carribbean- but where is the Carribbean? Scenery-wise i felt at times i was watching an episode of Lost, all jungle-ish. Plus i expected a little more sea-action. Whats the point in watching a pirates movie if they don't do "piratey" stuff?!
"Johnny Sparrow": this is not a typo. Johnny D. owns the part by now but he isn't really in his best form. My guess: all the crazy Sparrow is was enhanced by the presence of Will and Elizabeth (albeit to a lesser degree) who represented the "normal" world and especially wooden Will provided Sparrow with the moments to shine i.e. Wills naive approach to all things vs. Sparrows fiendishly cleverness . With these two absent the movie suffers from one big problem: it has no heart (and a lot less eye-candy)Concerning the Orlando/keira-stand-ins (aka priest and mermaid)Why not take the originals? They did a far better job than these two completely forgettable actors with the charisma of chopsticks. Blackbeard: so this is the most menacing pirate ever? Yawn. just because black is his favorite clothing-colour doesn't mean he is menacing. But he is a master at the wild eye-rolling technique. Kristen Stewart, take note. My summary: the filmmakers should have gone with what works: The chemistry between the leads. It's not like people expect a revelation from this movie they want to see the characters they come to love.