Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

As far as the Pirates of the Caribbean movies go, On Stranger Tides is probably NOT my favorite. It's still very entertaining, but somehow this film lacked the rollicking fun of Curse of the Black Pearl - which to me was the best one - though so much better than the convoluted mess that was At End's World.

Yes, the story itself was exactly what I want from a summer blockbuster. It was fairly simple and in fact, it made clear from the beginning where the story had to go. It was easily understandable and straightforward, but very engaging. Sure, there were a couple of unnecessary twists here and there, but that I thought added a little more depth to the plot of the general story arc. Basically, it's just a plain old adventure that's (thankfully!) not as confusing as the last two films. The writing could've been better, but whatever. Haha.

On a technical standpoint, I thought the movie, once again, delivered. The production values were impeccable, the cinematography was stunning, the set and period recreations were authentic and the special effects were at par with it's contemporaries. Of course, it wasn't perfect as some parts looked shockingly cheap, and there were action scenes that were done with very low lighting and poor camera angle, but that's just me nitpicking already.

I have to say though, the mermaid sequence was absolutely mesmerizing and chilling. It was beautifully shot and quite intriguing to say the least. At some point, I thought the whole movie was missing that special touch from it's previous films, until I saw this sequence. Yes, that to me was the best part of the film. I couldn't say the same thing about the final battle though, as it wasn't executed just as good. It fell a bit flat compared to the past films in terms of scale - basically a rehash.

As for the actors, I thought they did fairly decent in general. Geoffrey Rush was, as usual, brilliant. He - aside from Johnny Depp - got the funniest lines and reaction shots. Ian McShane was surprisingly underwhelming and Penelope Cruz was a reliably welcome, gorgeous presence if a bit one dimensional. The remaining cast did the best with what they were given - to say the least.

Johnny Depp, on the other hand, remained the face of the film. It's a matter of opinion, but this film wouldn't do hald as well if it wasn't for one Johnny Depp. He wasn't scared of a bit of self deprecation and again, he nailed the role of Jack Sparrow - the same guy we all know and love, and he made the film what it was.

Now, where things left off, I'd say there's definitely room for another sequel, but is there really much point at this stage? While this was an improvement from the third film, At World's End, it's still not what I'd class as "Excellent". But I digress. On Stranger Tides satisfied me enough as I wait for the progression of the summer blockbusters of cars that turn into robots, some kid named Harry, a flying green man and that guy with the bullseye on his shield.

RATING: 7/10