Over the weekend, I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at the drive-in. Yes, an old-fashioned, real deal drive-in. I believe this enhances the moviegoing experience; being under the stars, with a loved one, sippin' my Dew and eatin' m'popcorn. Then, at least if the movie is horrible, it has been a fun experience.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a great movie, though. It's got Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow again. It has Penelope Cruz as a hot pirate. It has mermaids, explosions, jokes, and a really cool adventure vibe. It's at least ten times better than any of the other pirate movies.
As the movie began, I was really expecting the same 'ol schlock we got from the first three pirate movies. The first three are mostly incoherent. There is always some kind of MacGuffin that forces the stories forward. It's usually like a lost treasure, in the case of pirate movies, or a magical portal, or a large amount of money, or even a person. In most action suspense movies, it's usually "the money" or "the file." It's like every Mission: Impossible type movie is motivated by this. In any case, it's something that motivates people in the movie to do extreme things. Well, in the first three pirate movies, I couldn't tell you what any motivations were. In fact, I couldn't really tell you exactly what happened in any of them. All I remember is that Jack Sparrow was dead, sort of, and they had to bring him back. And he was trying to retrieve his beloved ship, the Black Pearl. Other than that, the first three movies are a mish mash of weird, vaguely incoherent weirdness with some explosions and sword fighting thrown in. But, what do you expect?
In On Stranger Tides, however, the story is clear. Everyone is chasing after the fountain of youth. That makes it easier to follow when I'm in line at the drive-in to get popcorn. Or Playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my phone while watching the movie in the background. Or being distracted by the noises of surrounding redneck families on their various lawn chairs at the drive-in.
You see, I'm a strong believer that with any pirate movie, you don't need interweaving plotlines or complex backstories. You just need enough plot to make the thing work. And, this Pirates does that. It's fun, adventurous, and actually has many surprises. The mermaids were delightfully unexpected and bizarre.There is also an interesting theme woven in the story about faith. A clergyman is riding aboard the ship that Jack Sparrow is on, and he brings a unique perspective to all the happenings. It's food for thought.All in all, this pirate movie is worth seeing on the big screen. It's loud, cool, funny, and mischevious. It's a great summer blockbuster movie. So, break out the bug spray, eat a chili dog, and enjoy this wondrous schlock.
my rating: 3.5 out of 5
I agree that the second and third "Pirates" movies were hard to follow. I think they tried too hard to make a big epic trilogy out of the first movie, when, in my opinion, the first Pirates movie stands on it's own very well. There were too many plot lines to keep up with. I think this new one goes back to what makes a pirate movie fun. I did think that some of the action sequences were a little long and got a bit boring for me, but overall it was a fun movie.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with you about the first movie though. I loved the first one. I thought it was much easier to keep up with than the others, plus the Black Pearl has an undead crew, which added to the mystery and made it a cool ghost story in addition to a pirate tale. I think they really screwed up when they added in the whole Davy Jones thing in the second movie. It got too complicated. But Disney still made a dumpload of money.
Maybe I should give the first Pirates another chance. I own it on DVD, but I haven't seen it in a while. Johnny Depp's performance was definitely the best in the first one. I still think this new one is the best one overall.
ReplyDeleteHaving just seen Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for the second time, I thought that I should throw in my opinion. I agree with Tim. I really liked the first movie, but I didn't like the Davy Jones story line in the second and third movies.
ReplyDeleteI also have to agree with Evan. The fourth movie was really good. Probably as good as the first. It brought back a lot of the pirate/sea folklore that was so compelling in the first movie. It also didn't go overboard with the supernatural elements.
I thought that Penelope Cruz did a great job. She is the perfect female pirate. I liked her better than Keira Knightley. I didn't actually miss Orlando Bloom either.
Overall, I would recommend the movie. I would also dare to say that it left me wanting more. Pirates 5??