MovieJunky101

24 May 2012

A new movie with new adventures, new actors, but in all honestly, really just more of the same.

For those of you who don't know, Pirates of the Caribbean: On StrangerTides, the fourth film in Disney's Pirates franchise has officiallybeen released. A new movie with new adventures, new actors, but in allhonestly, really just more of the same.The film started off well enough, with Johnny Depp, once againembodying the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, making his grand entrancewhile trying to save his first mate, Gibbs (played of course by KevinMcNally) from the gallows. Then on to a failed escape and yet anothergrand (or familiar) entrance by the great Geoffrey Rush as the infamousBarbossa. Captain Jack makes another terrific, and comical escape,leading to a chase producing one of the best filmed sequences in themovie. All right this is what I liked about the movie: That chase sequence,and some of the better choreographed fights, Blackbeard and hisdaughter Angelica, played by the gorgeous Oscar winner Penélope Cruz,and the fantastically underused, Ian McShane. Sparrow and Angelica'sinteractions were some of the best scenes in the film as well as thebig mermaid sequence. Now for what I didn't like: the Spanish's pursuit of the Fountain ofYouth, just felt useless. The romance between the religious boy and themermaid, Astrid Berges-Frisbey and Sam Claflin, just was not thatinteresting. The fact that Blackbeard was so fantasticallyunderwritten, and the loss of momentum starting after the first bigchase.Other than the mermaid surprise, back before I even knew of theirinvolvement in the film, I was down right shocked by the choice of RobMarshall as this film's director. Marshall is a well known as a TonyAward nominated choreographer and director, and even more well known asthe Academy Award winning director of the musical Chicago. All in all, I really only liked the film in bits and pieces, PenélopeCruz and Ian McShane as Angelica and Blackbeard, Johnny Depp as JackSparrow, the idea of the story (even if the script itself left more tobe desired). First time Pirates director, Robb Marshall did wellenough, though not as good as we could have hopped. He directed thefight and chase sequences like grand musical numbers, giving theaudience some fantastic moments, but in the end the film as a whole,fell flat to my expectations. We don't get good movies out of the bitsand pieces of good moments do we? As for all you hard core Pirates andJack Sparrow fans out there, I'm sure you will enjoy the film as theheart and soul of the franchise, Mr. Johnny Depp, was used in almostevery scene. The film should have revamped the series, instead theyplayed it safe with a glossy studio film, made seemingly only to keepinterest in the series. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesgets an 8 for the good use of Penélope Cruz, Johnny Depp and GeoffreyRush. A 4 for not bringing anything new to the series, pacing issuesand the terribly small amount of screen time for Ian McShane. In theend the fourth Pirates movie left me a little unsatisfied, and afteraveraging it out Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, gets a 6which stands for average.

Christopher Haviland

24 May 2012

An unspectacular follow-up

On Stranger Tides wasn't nearly as "strange" as the third installment,At World's End, nearly as crippled with plot holes, and not even halfas spectacular as Dead Man's Chest. While it brings back everyone's favorite two battling pirates, JackSparrow and Hector Barbossa, who were played out in all their colorfulglory, none of the supporting characters were of great interest at all.Probably most disappointing was Blackbeard, who looked like any otherpirate and didn't stand out to me as being a very imposing villain.Compare him with Barbossa when he was a ghost, Tia Dalma and especiallyDavy Jones. Lots of missed opportunities here. First of all I would have made hisbeard BLACK, and something you can't take your eyes off of (hence thename), and I would have given him more magical power and sinisterdialog. He should have been made into the nastiest, least honorablepirate alive. And I would NEVER have given him a girly daughter.The mermaids were interesting as an idea, but as characters they playedtoo small a role to sustain my attention. The Fountain of Youth waspromising when they crossed into it but failed to deliver after theyarrived. It was about as visually appealing as... well, an ordinarycave spring, only with a hint of ruins standing within.The movie had many amusing moments, but they were strung together bythe traditional pirate clichés and more sword fights that offerednothing we haven't seen before. The background pirates were hardly even noticeable. No lovable sidekickpirates like Ragetti and Pintel or mascots like the undead monkey.All in all it was fun to see Johnny Depp play Jack again, one of hismost compelling characters, and Geoffrey Rush's ingenious Barbossa, butif you're looking for something to top Gore Verbinski's trilogy you'llbe disappointed.

DZ

23 May 2012

It brings entertainment back, but more reality than fantasy, more dark than sunny and more land than sea with some little problems

You may find me a bit weird, but if we look at my Pirates of theCaribbean history briefly, I have to do that to explain some things andto compare, I enjoyed "The Curse of the Black Pearl", but I didn't loveit as other people did. That's why I always think that it is overrated.If you remember, for a while, it was in IMDb Top 250. It was not epicor great for me (except the character Jack Sparrow) You know, you watcha movie, you like it, you are entertained, but that's all, it does notbecome one of your favorite movies. Then, "Dead Man's Chest" came! Itwas not your typical summer blockbuster for me. I found it excellentand people was laughing at me, when I said it is a kind of masterpiece!It was one of the sequels which surpassed the original like Spider Man2. A lot of things were improved (including Jack Sparrow character),the weaknesses were made up. Dead Man's Chest was a sunny sea adventurewith a brilliant direction, a real villain, a surprising story, someepic scenes such as the escape from the island or the "wheel" swordfight and great entertainment with some art as spice. "At World's End"was the weakest in the trilogy, because this time, it was not evenentertaining and the movie itself was so disconnected/messy. Probably,people will agree with me on "At World's End". Now, let's talk about"On Stranger Tides". It is much better than the third movie, but farfrom being a masterpiece-like work like "Dead Man's Chest". It bringsentertainment back!, especially the first half of the movie andPenelope Cruz brings beauty, but some serious problems prevent themovie from being fully satisfactory. The Black Beard character cannotbe a villain like Davy Jones, how can I say?, he is weak and notthreatening. It just doesn't make you excited like Davy Jones did."Zombies" are pointless and even ridiculous. The mermaids look likefashion models/the brides of Dracula from "Van Helsing" with cheesy CGIand without any nudity rather than natural, mesmerizing beauties. Ididn't understand the relationship between one of them and Philip atall. What was that? There is no sea battle unfortunately as there is nosea creature, you find a lot of sword fights instead, even if theediting is too close or too fast in some of the scenes. Generally, themovie is more dark than sunny, more "land" than "sea" and more realitythan fantasy. Probably, this is because the producers tried to make themovie more like the first movie to meet the expectations of theaudiences. And the movie does not include a climactic final like AtWorld's End or a dramatic final like Dead Man's Chest, whichdisappointed me seriously. However, probably, the thing thatdisappointed me the most is fountain of youth. It was not thatbeautiful and it was not mesmerizing. The place looks more like theplace in the first movie, which they do the sword fight! Therefore, allmy dreams about fountain of youth "fell in the drink." As for thecaptain for the chair of direction, Rob Marshall, direction is never atthe foreground, it is the story this time.

Safcinexile

23 May 2012

Sunk To The Murky Depths!

Saw this film last night with my hubby, I have to be honest and saythis is one of the worst movies I have seen this year! The only onethat was worth watching was Depp and even then there was no passion inhis eyes doing this role that was in the previous movies. There was noscreen chemistry between his co stars, Cruz just ran around like aheadless chicken, looking as if she had no idea what she was doing!The storyline itself was much to be desired, felt like I wanted to fallasleep, in fact I had to nudge my hubby a couple of times as heactually did nod off during it! If you have a bad case of insomnia,this is the movie for you!If there is to be another one, then it had better be better, otherwisesomebody should lock it away in Davey Jones' locker forever!I grudgingly have given this 2/10 only because I cannot do one and ahalf.....

ben-james300

23 May 2012

Action packed and a good laugh

What can i say? Johnny Depp is awesome in this movie as Captain JackSparrow, Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, Penélope Cruz as Angelica Malon,Richard Griffiths as King George (If you don't know who he is he is theactor that played Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter) that's not all thereare a lot more good actors in this movie. The story/plot (which i amnot going to reveal) is simple and understandable and really well done.Unlike the other movies, POTC has new characters but as i said beforeyou will have to watch and find out. Enough about that POTC is packedfull of action, thrills, laughs and all. Please i highly recommend youwatch it. 6/10. DID you know? Penélope Cruz was pregnant will acting inPOTC and her sister played a role in the long shots. Kind regards,ben-james300. Good viewing.

NJRocker091188

22 May 2012

Captain Jack is back.

This is entertainment.And this is what we go to the movies for. To be entertained.Not to mention of course, best Pirates Film Thus Far.Don't get me wrong, I loved all three of the fist films.And I would agree that I didn't feel like I was seeing POTC withoutcertain Characters in it.However, in terms of Liz's Character, a long with Will's character',their story line were finished.So, there is no need for them to appear in this film.And, despite them and their story not being in this film, it actuallymade it better.There is also no need for Character Development, because all of thereturning Characters have been developed during the last three films. So, what makes this film so great,other then what I have mentioned sofar?It has Great heart pounding, eye popping action.Great specialeffects,decent writing,with a decent plot,and extremely funny.You willlaugh your *** off during the first 20 mins or so, as well as duringcertain parts of the film as it goes a long.It also has excellentperformances from Penélope Cruz whom plays as Angelica, as well as IanMcShane whom plans as Blackbeard. I am not saying that the rest of thecast and crew don't give a great performance, I am just saying thatMcShane, and Cruz where excellent. And the best part is, we finally got to see Captain Jack Sparrow havinga little bit more of a spot light. And, again, don't get me wrong, Iabsolutely loved the first three. But, I kinda feel like they wheremostly about Bloom's and Knightley story, and without them in the way,we can get into more of a Pirate Tale.If this turns out to be a new trilogy, I will gladly go out to see thenext two films to follow.

chakflying

21 May 2012

Classic style, but not so surprising

I don't know how to write a good review, so I'll just start fromnothing. The story is about Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard, Angelica,Barbossa, all looking for the Fountain of Youth, where you can takeanother person's years and extending you life, for different reasons.As usual, somebody wins and some body dies. Here you can see some expected scenes, kisses, explosions, killingpeople, some strange looking guys, stuffs like those. There are roughlytwo story lines, and merged properly. The 3D effect is not so obviousin the middle part of the film, but clearly them have put some efforton making some of the scenes popping out of the screen, not just depthof field 3D. The ending is not surprising as you saw the bad guys aredead and everybody lives happily ever after, but it's acceptable inthis movie.One thing about Johnny Depp is that he switches brilliantly betweendifferent emotions, and the "laughing points" are quite well too,adding some more features to this film. Also, his "non-lethal" attacksare pleasing too.almost forgot to mention about the CGs, just so natural that you couldforget their existence, the effort they have put in should not beforgotten(speaking as a non-experienced 3D modeler).Overall, this is a movie that if you walk into the theater, you shouldwalk out smiling(should), but don't look for big surprises.

anderson356145

21 May 2012

Show me that horizon!

Thoroughly enjoyable! Although the plot could have been moresubstantial, it is worth 2 hours and 15 minutes of your time. Becausethere were so many sub-plots in P.O.C. At Worlds End, I had to go seethat one twice to make sure I understood it all - but I still loved it.On Stranger Tides was perhaps a little *too* simple, I think....butagain, I still enjoyed it. Note: Ian McShane should have been nastier &meaner. In the scheme of things, Cutler Beckett (from P.O.C. 2 & 3) wasa more despicable and unlikable character than Blackbeard turned out tobe. Just for perspective, I am a grandmother and I am happy to say thatI am still a die-hard P.O.C. fan. Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush mightcringe if they saw this, but I could sit and listen to Jack Sparrow andHector Barbossa read a dictionary for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Here'shoping for another P.O.C. in 4 or 5 years - and I am sure with a cleverscript they will get the formula just right. Forget the critics - it'sa fun movie. Go see it. Now! Savvy?

20 May 2012

Much better than the last two

This review is from: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) (Blu-ray) This had a better plot and was fun to watch. It should be noted that although it is important that movies like this have a good star (and Johnny Depp is very good) it is the villains who make the movie (e.g. Heath Ledger in Batman). In this movie the villains were great and it is they who carry the plot forward.

mihkelm1

20 May 2012

a family movie

The movie contains not much dialogue, a sad love affair, couple of newand original story lines and lots of stereotypical pirate types. J.Depp makes a big effort to not sound normal. The way he keeps talkinglike Jack Sparrow just doesn't make him connect with the audience in myopinion. BUT - this being primarily a children's movie (a Disney one),it is best suited for them - getting exited about exotic places,mystique, mermaids, seamen talking funnily and making funny faces. Noplace for rationality or hardships of life, which are still to betaught at (life) school. Only few people of today's padded environmentwould be capable of dying of old age either being a soldier or a piratein early modern age Europe.Unfortunately this particular pirate movie doesn't contain anyeducational angle for kids - none of the pirates were hanged. Only acouple were shot by the Spanish (who also shot the English). Truth betold, the bad will get punished, but one just doesn't have the feelingof it having been done.If I'm not mistaken, Disney has made a movie or movies about mermaidsbefore. Anyway they seem to be a rather underused resource atHollywood, meaning a complete surprise. Other stuff were old - think ofIndiana Jones and the Holy Grail.

19 May 2012

Nothing in the world cannot be imporved upon by the addition of pirates...

This review is from: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Five-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) Cap'n Jack Sparrow and his crew of lovable miscreants are once again on the high seas in search of adventure. Our intrepid voyager's search for the Fountain of Youth begins in the old world and ends in the new. What happens along the way is a cinematic journey far more reminiscent of the Curse of the Black Pearl, and far less reminiscent of At World's End. A hearty yo-ho to the writers, director, cast and crew for making the journey a memorable one (and a rum toast to the 3D film crew for not overdoing the special effects)...

19 May 2012

Christmas presents - they loved it!

This review is from: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (DVD) Both boys....one a teenager and one in his 30's own all the other Pirates of the Caribbean movies and were just as pleased to add this one to their collection. It was received promptly and in good condition.

WellaBlack

18 May 2012

Stranger Tides...a good spice added to the main course made of the first three movies

I am writing this as a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean in hope thatother fans will trust me: This movie was good, but it wasn't GREAT. Itof course wasn't as good as the first three movies were. It had anentirely different taste. It began in a very fast temp, but later lostit. It did not have the balance the third movie had, and neither was itas active as the second one.From time to time I found myself really missing Keira Knightley(andthis surprises me because I've never been particularly fond of herpresence in the movies.) Angelica is cool, and a pirate, and has a nicebody and all...but Elizabeth was much better(actually Elizabeth was abetter fighter than Angelica, which surprised me.) Blackbeard? He's fine, but not awesome. Sometimes looking at him I feltlike I was looking at an ordinary old man clinging to his vain beliefs.He is just too dull next to the colourful villains of the previousmovies(even Beckett was more colourful.) He did not have the effectDavy Jones had, but still he is a to-be-adored character. I had thefeeling that he had a tremendous back-story to himself that was notgiven(and yet still supposed to be given.) I really liked the mermaids. They were CREEPY,but I loved them. Jack asusual is a pleasure to have on white screen.Johnny Depp did a good jobthere, but I should say that sometimes the screenplay leaned too hardon Jack and the jokes started getting lame.To me the best thing in themovie was Barbossa. He was the only character that preserved histaste...In the end, yes movie had many faults, but still it was one of thosemovies you could watch forever. Continuous adventure is fun. And seeingJack and Gibbs under the sunset, and Barbossa finding his fancy hat andgiving his usual "blaaah" laugh made me forgive and forget everythingelse. :) So, go and see it- while it's still on the big screen (and bythe way, I watched it in 2D and I don't think I missed anything- I'manti-3D for movies.) It is very fun and you definitely should see it.Don't worry: It is not as bad as it seemed in the trailer, but stillknow that this movie has an entirely different taste. In the end, I'msure you'll be very happy too when you see Barbossa wearing his old hat;)

18 May 2012

Review

Item just as it was described. Love the movie. Probably the best one besides the first one.The shipper shipped the dvd quickly. I had it in no time!

17 May 2012

They PIRATED me out of a decent package!!!!!!

This review is from: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) (Blu-ray) I now have all of the PIRATE movies, but interesting how the greedy pirates at Disney decided that in order to sell their 3D version, they would add a bonus blu ray disc with extras to the package but NOT give one to those of us who only bought the blu ray (and really don't need the regular DVD they stuck in there). AND THEY LIED ON THE ADVERTISEMENT (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo). That adds up to 3 discs to me. And here I am, stuck with a purchase that I have spent over $20+ at Amazon, and it turns out I'm buying based on what the add says, and wind up with a version that Disney has sneaked out under false pretenses. The movie is fine, the blu-ray is crisp and clean and the sound is great....but all of my other Pirate movies (pre-3D)have a movie disc and a bonus disc, both in blu-ray, and no need to stick in the dvd. Anyone want to start a complaint group? I want to get what was advertised and that's all. Yo ho indeed......

nickmesafilms

17 May 2012

Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011) - Its a Pirates Life for Me! Savvy?

I was completely excited to see all the new changes of the brand newPirates movie. Although I loved the movie, I have mixed thoughts. Thenegative side - unlike the first three, this one didn't take us to thefamiliar locations in the first three. Also, the film didn't bringOrlando Bloom and Keira Knightley back. Also, the film just didn't feeltraditional to its elements. But my positive side - I thought thismovie had excellent new characters including Ian McShane as thehorrific 'Blackbeard', Penelope Cruz, who sizzles on screen, as JackSparrow's former lover, and Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush return to thescreen for their roles as Jack Sparrow, who is still witty as ever, andCapt. Barbossa, who is now sent Admiral of a British ship. The filmalso had neat visual effects, amazing music, and my favorite scene inthe movie was the deadly mermaid scene. What happened was...well, youneed to see the movie to find out what happens. Also, the story whereeverybody searches for the Fountain of Youth carried my expectations.Although not traditional to the first three, Pirates 4 was a uniquestyle of the Pirate films that was completely interesting. "Pirates ofthe Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", in my review, "nothing traditional,but extremely unique".

Saad Khan

16 May 2012

Pirates are saved by the Mermaids.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES – CATCH IT ( B+ ) Piratesof the Caribbean returns with another Jack Sparrow's mystical venture.It introduces some interesting new characters and stories, thecharacters are enjoyable but the screenplay is loose. The best thingabout the Pirates4 is the Mermaids, the entrance of the Mermaids has tobe one of the best scenes in the entire Pirates Franchise. The firsttime someone decided to present the scary still beautiful side of themermaids. Johnny Depp is drunken funny himself, we are kind of use toit. Geoffrey Rush is repetitive as well. Penelope Cruz is good but shedidn't look as athletic as the character was. Though, chemistry betweenJohnny Depp and Penelope Cruz is really interesting. Among the newbatch we Sam Claflin as the charming kind of priest religious guy andAstrid Bergès-Frisbey as the captured Mermaid is serene. The weirdthing was that they were supposed to be the new Orlando Blood and KeiraKnightely but sadly they didn't get many dialogues or scene separatelyto shine. Gemma Ward as first emerging Mermaid is absolutely gorgeous,her entry and enchanting voice will be engraved in my head for long.Overall, Pirates are saved by the Mermaids. The Mermaids are the mostfascinating part of the Stranger's Tides. I defiantly would like to seemore parts as promised because it was enjoyable and there is lot ofthings can be done with these characters.

insomniac_rod

16 May 2012

Its Jacks show.

My expectations were low and I was surprisingly pleased by this movie.It's all about Jack. He interrupts in the most important moments withhis wacky sense of humor.The movie is overall entertaining and funny. My beef with it was somedumb character decisions, and solving important events withimprovisations. But well it's Jack's style. Jack Sparrow carries the whole film on his back. Penelope Cruz was agreat addition as her character is fierce, beautiful, and very angrytowards Jack. Barbossa returns and wants to seek revenge againstBlackbeard. So character wise, the movie is great.The f/x are excellent although the 3D isn't at any point necessary butthat's my opinion.The score is also fantastic. The production values are superb, the story gets you interested most ofthe time, the action sequences were just good (left something todesire); and the humor is fine. The highlights for me were the mermaidsattack, the opening sequence, and the final match between Barbossa andBlackbeard.Overall it's a popcorn movie that should please fans of the series. .

paul-2123

16 May 2012

Pirates by numbers

This film was made on autopilot. It gives nothing new. Depp and Rushsimply cruise through the movie. It is like they are on autopilot. Theyplay the characters with consummate ease. McShane steals the show inall his scenes.Penelope Cruz - well I have no idea what she brings to the table -except maybe eye candy. Her acting is more wooden than the hull of thepearl!The priest / bible basher character, well he is another pointlesscharacter.Basically the film lacks something without bloom and knightley.There is still plenty to come from the franchise, but the currentdirection is a dead end.

16 May 2012

Ive got starings

I've got to say that I loved Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides. I have watched all four in the series and whilst I thought the previous three were okay, the characters played by Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom really ruined the stories (in my opinion). This film however focuses more on Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) and Barbossa (played by Geoffrey Rush) and has two new main characters - Blackbeard and his daughter. This film seemed to move much faster than the previous three and was much funnier. Depp is a genius in this film; love him or hate him, he won't fail to make you laugh. I highly recommend it.