Movie Review - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

MegaSoulhero Only a few days until Pirates 5 comes out! I've already reviewed the first 3 Pirates movies, and now I'm going to review the 4th one. And I'll review the 5th one after I see it later this week.

In On Stranger Tides, Jack Sparrow comes across a woman from his past, Angelica, played by Penelope Cruz, who was impersonating him. He then gets abducted and ends up on the Queen Anne's Revenge. A ship owned by Blackbeard, Angelica's father. They have Jack take them to the Fountain of Youth so they could save Blackbeard's life. And along the way, they have to find a tear of a mermaid and two chalices. A lot of people really hate this film and consider it to be the worst Pirates film. But honestly, I don't think it's that bad. I felt like the plot of this movie was a lot easier to follow than the previous installments. At World's End was really confusing since it had such a complicated plot to follow. So this felt like a breath of fresh air. From a visual standpoint, this movie is amazing to look at. You can really tell how much effort they put into the action scenes. There are a lot of great stunts and fights that make the action scenes very entertaining to watch. This one scene that really stood out was the scene where they are being attacked by mermaids. First of all, I love these mermaids. They are just so awesome and vicious at the same time! And yes, they are all more likeable than Ariel. That's because these mermaids are attaching the pirates to defend themselves whereas Ariel puts people's lives in danger due to her selfishness. The entire mermaid scene has such a dark tone and it looks amazing. I also thought this movie was the funniest in the franchise. Mainly because of Jack. Once again, Jack is the best character in the movie.

As far as negatives go, there are quite a few. Let's talk about Blackbeard. When I saw this movie, I was really excited that Blackbeard was in the movie. He's one of my favorite pirates of all time. So when he appeared in the movie, bland character! I was very disappointed by this. Ian McShane is a great actor but it didn't seem like he was feeling it in this movie. The character didn't really do much. I thought the relationship between Phillip and the mermaid was kind of pointless. One scene that I thought was both good and bad was the scene where Jack is about to jump off a cliff. I like the scene because it's pretty funny, but at the same time I hate the scene because it goes on for too long. It's just 3 minutes of them discussing Jack jumping off the cliff. Also, one of the characters throws a Jack voodoo doll off the cliff to see if he will survive. Jack is shown to be able to feel himself falling since it's a voodoo doll, but my problem is while the doll is in the water, wouldn't that make Jack drown or at least feel the water? There are actually many plot holes involving the doll. However, this movie isn't entirely meant to be taken seriously. I mostly like it for how entertaining. It's a movie to mostly have fun with and it does a great job at being a fun movie.

On Stranger Tides may not be the best Pirates film, but it is still an enjoyable and entertaining film with great action, excellent visuals, and a great sense of adventure. This is a movie that definitely deserves more recognition. A lot of people seem to forget about this one when talking about Pirates of the Caribbean. I really enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing Dead Men Tell No Tales this Thursday night!

Score: 7/10

Comments

I'm Going To See Pirates 5 On Sunday!
And Nice Review! - JPK