Kudos for turning around the spiral...maybe Pirates can still survive

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2011)

Curse of the Black Pearl was one of the most brilliant adventures I had ever seen. Unique and huge and made Pirates the coolest thing out there and Johnny Depp created one of the greatest anti-hero characters in film history. And then the original trilogy began to spiral down into clutter and confusion and lost all that heart that came from the original. Still the original was amazing enough that I really did want to see this newest, long awaited instalment. I was even more excited that Johnny Depp and the film makers made clear they were trying to take this back to their roots. Clearly they knew that despite the BILLIONS of dollars the original trilogy made there was some serious clutter starting. So they made Jack Sparrow the main focus, threw in some new characters and took him on the high seas in a new adventure. Well done for turning it around. Does it touch the original? Not even close. I felt like maybe it was a little too basic and they even maybe played it too careful (I know darned if you do and darned if you don't) but there definitely was a spark still missing. However, the film is terrific and fun and adventurous and you don't miss the characters of Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) or Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) because Depp clearly carries the film.
You really can't say a single bad thing about Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow. He has the character down to a fine science and while I think he's lost his unique and fun edge it is still always great to go on this adventure with him. Depp is flawless and a movie star in every sense of the word. Even if the series continues to get worse I have no doubt that Depp's Sparrow will be brilliant. Penélope Cruz has proved to be a very versatile actress and this is a good turn for her. Taking on the strong female swashbuckler and former love of Sparrow, Angelica is fun and her and Depp have amazing chemistry together. She fits right into the story and into the cast. Geoffrey Rush returns in his terrific role as the over bearing pirate Barbossa. I have loved this character since day one. I felt like he was a little low key in this film and him and Jack didn't have as much banter against each other which always made for great moments in the original trilogy. Ian McShane joins the cast as the legendary Blackbeard and who better to do it. I mean McShane sort of gets type-casted in this type of villain but he is still perfect for Blackbeard. Kevin McNally also returns in his role as Jack's number one man, but he is sadly underused and almost feels like he was only forced into the story to have a returning character.
Gore Verbinski is not a seasoned director but he is incredibly talented. I feel like Rob Marshall is a step down from having Verbinski's vision behind the camera. Marshall's career has been successful but focusing on musicals (Chicago) and a time piece like Memoirs of a Geisha. That doesn't really translate into swashbuckling adventure. On Stranger Tides is a good film, it is a welcome turn around to the series but the problem is I felt like everything was just a little too low key. The original Pirates film was in your face, over the top, action adventure that held no punches and I just thought that On Stranger Tides played it safe, and didn't really let loose but maybe that was purposeful to try and pull the reigns back and stop the series from becoming a cluttered mess. Regardless if you liked the original trilogy this one will be welcomed as well. Kids will love the adventure and adults will love the characters. Worth seeing, but a far cry from the original film. 8/10