Pirates 4 goes back to basics. My review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Back in 2007, just before the release of 'At World's End', there was a great deal of hype surrounding the final of the Pirates trilogy. The second installment, 'Dead Man's Chest', whilst disappointing delivered us with thrills and some good ol' pirate action that left us gagging for more. Since they were filmed back-to-back throughout 2006/07, this was a sure sign the production team knew exactly what they were doing. How VERY wrong we were? 'At World's End' proved to be a shambles; an abysmal mess of a movie. Why? It was too damn complicated. It wasn't fun anymore. The characters were shells of their former selves. Dare I say it was too farfetch'd even for Pirates standard? I mean, this was the franchise that brought us mythical creatures in the form of the Kraken, seamen aboard the Flying Dutchman run by a demented squid in the form of Davy Jones and skeletal pirates on the Black Pearl with Captain Barbossa. Before AWE, we all had fun. It wasn't too silly but just the right amount to keep us entertained. So forgive me when I say I expected yet another mess of a film. I'm happy to report, however; this is definately not the case. Here goes nothing.....

The film sees our wonderful hero, Captain Jack Sparrow (once again Johnny Depp doing a great performance) in search of the Fountain of Youth whilst obstacles fall in his path. These come in the form of former love interest Angelica, played by Penelope Cruz, who just happens to be the daughter of the much feared pirate Blackbeard, played magnificently by Ian McShane, who is also in search of the Fountain. Also in search is series regular Barbossa, now working for her Majesty's Government. You hear that AWE producers?!?! A simple storyline would have done OK?! Anyhoo, that is the story pretty much. A nice simple narrative that EVERYONE can follow. We are officially back to basics. Rant Over.

With the characters in place, we sail off to sea, encountering gorgeous yet demonic mermaids (scared the shit out of me!), zombified pirates and a rather funny depiction of the Spanish Army. Nonetheless, that's the point. We are having fun once again. The series has been brought back to its roots; way back in 2003, the original film was released and we all can remember how that summer we wanted to be Captain Jack. Whilst the original will always remain the superior film, there are moments in OST that remind us just how good these films can actually be. For example, upon discussing the idea of a mutiny aboard Blackbeard's ship, Stephen Graham's Scrum runs individually to dispatch the crew to which Sparrow replies to the rest of the gang; "Well, go on then!" It's a subtle moment of humour and you have to watch it to laugh, but it harks back to familiar territory. 

The inclusion of the new characters like Blackbeard and Angelica work and hinder in equal measure. Whilst she is a focus point, Angelica never seems to be a necessary character. Cruz rarely makes use of her time, instead coming across as flat and just playing a sassy Spanish hottie (she was pretty hot I'll give her that). However, McShane's Blackbeard is the best character in the movie when he's on-screen. He's the villain the series has needed all this time in all honesty. He's evil, brutal, malicious, scary and most importantly, believable. And he gets decent screentime too, unlike the previous efforts where there were far too many characters to keep up with and the plot was lost. We have two major additions that don't upset the balance/pace of the movie and actually enhance the plot. 

Now, I understand people are complaining about the lack of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. As far as I'm concerned, they should have been left out of the last two. They were good for the purpose of the first film but didn't work at all with the next two. A fresh start was needed and thank God the producers listened.

Therefore, overall, this is definately worth seeing. The back to basics look, the fresh batch of actors, the familiar setting and some fantastic set pieces make it worth your while. 3 out of 5 stars for me!