Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Year: 2011

Director: Rob Marshall

Writer: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane

Review:

This film took me a while to finally watch. It had been on DVD for some time and since I was a fan of the original trilogy, I decided to continue with the story. We also have a cast of actors that I’m a fan of. Jaime and I then gave this a watch, her first time and a second for me, for our podcast, Depp Dive: A Depper Look into Johnny’s Feature Filmography. I also consider this horror adjunct so it is also an Odyssey through the Ones watch.

Synopsis: Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter are after it too.

We begin with fishermen bringing their net in. They make a surprising discovery that there’s a man in it. They take him to the Spanish king. They are looking for the Fountain of Youth and this man seems to know where it is. The king sends Óscar Jaenada after it.

We then shift to a man in a cell who everyone believes to be Captain Jack Sparrow. He’s removed and taken into a courtroom. It turns out to be Gibbs (Kevin McNally). He is on trial for piracy. When the chief justice comes in, this turns out to be the real Jack Sparrow. He convicts Gibbs of not being him and orders him to serve the rest of his life in the Tower of London. Jack gets in the carriage with Gibbs as they head for the Tower. On the way there, he learns that Jack is getting a crew together, but he doesn’t even have a ship.

Jack's plans go awry when he's chained and brought before King George (Richard Griffiths). The King, also seeking the Fountain of Youth, believes Jack has a map and is assembling a crew. When this proves false, King George suspects Jack is an imposter and introduces Barbossa, now working for the crown after losing the Black Pearl. Despite Barbossa's warning, King George dismisses the idea of Jack escaping, a misjudgment as he promptly breaks free.

Jack must be creative to get away and he gets help from his father, Captain Teague (Keith Richards). He takes Jack to the crew that he is supposed to be preparing and hints about the Fountain of Youth needing two chalices to make work. He then disappears.

Jack then has a run in with the imposter, who turns out to be Angelica (Penélope Cruz). These two have a history. Jack gets knocked out and wakes up on the dread ship belonging to Blackbeard, Queen Anne’s Revenge. This is then a race and journey to the Caribbean and Florida, searching for the mythical Fountain of Youth. We also have a wide range of people who will stop at nothing to find it.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I enjoyed this film, despite my initial wariness about the long wait for its release. I appreciate the continued exploration of sea mythology and famous pirates, especially recognizing Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. The inclusion of the Fountain of Youth, a real-world historical pursuit and its integration with supernatural elements and folklore, was also a highlight.

Then sticking with these ideas, I’m not sure if much of the Fountain of Youth mythology we get is made up for the movie. I’m limited in my knowledge of lore on mermaids, outside of knowing that the older stories have them as beautiful, but vicious monsters. Syrena (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) is a specific one that we meet. This helps to establish the others while also humanizing them. I also liked that Blackbeard used ‘zombies’ as his officers. These are created through voodoo so he can control them. That’s a great concept. He might also have other powers as well.

Now the clear theme here is the pursuit of immortality. There is a darker side to what the fountain does, where instead of just giving you immortality, you take the remaining years from someone as a sacrifice. There’s the struggle against death going along with it. Another more subtle one is that Angelica is searching for the fountain to help with salvation of her father’s soul. There is also a Christian missionary, Philip (Sam Claflin), who Blackbeard is keeping alive. Other than that, we get the classic ones for this series of revenge, betrayal, loyalty or lack thereof, as well as freedom.

Something I’ll also say is that this isn’t a traditional horror. Pirates, voodoo zombies and mermaids that kill men to drink the blood are all things that flirt with the genre. It does seem they’re combining them with vampires a bit. The Pirates of the Caribbean films have used horror film elements throughout, which I like and they are still family friendly even with them. What I’ll acknowledge is that the tone isn’t necessarily there.

Let’s then shift to the acting performances. The acting is generally solid. While Depp's talent isn't always evident here, he’s still Jack Sparrow. Rush consistently embodies his role despite limited screen time. Cruz is a good addition as Blackbeard's intriguing daughter. McShane's Blackbeard is menacing, with good screen presence and subtle supernatural powers. Supporting actors like McNally, Claflin, Graham, Richards, and Griffiths round out the cast and Judi Dench has a notable cameo.

Let’s then finish out with the filmmaking aspects. Like the ones that were before this, it is made well. The cinematography and framing captures this being Victorian era or around there. They do well with the action sequences, which we get a lot of. I do think they go a bit overboard there. The CGI that we get here looks good. A big part of that is Disney money. The soundtrack also works. It helps with that grand feel of the epic. If there is a gripe, this just runs too long. I lose interest and it just is lacking that spark that made the earlier ones work.

In conclusion, this delivers an entertaining, albeit lengthy, adventure. While it may not quite capture the same spark as its predecessors, it remains a fun watch, bolstered by engaging performances and a continued exploration of captivating sea mythology. The film successfully blends historical pursuits with supernatural folklore, making it a worthy addition to the franchise despite its minor shortcomings.

My Rating: 7 out of 10