Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Tonight Daniel and I donned our eyepatches to go see Pirates Of The Caribbean 4, but then had to quickly remove them when we realised it was in 3D.

(2D is just a patch on 3D)

Alas, our four friends who I had seen the last two Pirates films with had not been available to join us for this fourth episode. Something to do with having kids now, I gather. Well, I can't argue with that, for a couple of reasons:

1. This is a bit violent for young kids.

2. Several of the earlier cast declined to come along for this one too.

The central anti-hero Captain Jack Sparrow did though, and appears to have been taking lessons from the same tutor as Zorro.

For in this, the lovable drunk leaps around with the ability of someone at the peak of gymnastic fitness. Perhaps he was always this light-footed and I've simply forgotten, but I'd prefer to suppose that he's been attending some classes in contrology.

Anyway I thought this was the best of the four movies so far, but this might partly be because I'm prejudiced. Early on there are some scenes set at Hampton Court Palace, where my dad used to work. Well of course I enjoyed sitting in a cinema watching that in 3D. Were those rooms sets, or was I actually looking into my dad's old workplace again? Maybe I should have paid more attention when I was younger.

The exposition here is done very well too. The story sprawls a bit, but the writers know it and take care to pause and let the characters run through what they're doing and why a second time. Sincerely, thanks for that.

There's also a missionary, who continues the series' attitude of endowing the traditionally weaker characters with intelligence and integrity. His love story with the mermaid worked quite well I thought, made easier by how innocently the mermaids are realised. In such a fantastical world, they managed to make those two fairly believable.

Unlike the last two movies, this entry is very much a stand alone episode. I obviously don't know what any future instalments contain, but this holds little connection to the previous three, and develops Captain Jack's character not a jot. Sure, he gets to talk a bit again, and we find out a little bit more about his past, but he doesn't really change in this.

As if we would want him to.

(available here)
Related Posts:

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides