Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Review

Many years ago when people at the Walt Disney studios were thinking of material to use to make a movie, they decided to use material based on attractions from the Disneyland theme park. Since then they have done three attempts. The first and third attempts were not successful as they were not good films. But the second attempt quickly became one of the most popular films of all time. It also created a character that is now a huge icon in the world of pop culture. Since it’s premiere in 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl , pretty much wrote the rules on how to make a film out a theme park ride. All you have to do is make sure you have a good story and great characters, that is what will ensure the movies success. Since then we have had two more Pirates come out. Dead Man’s Chest in 2006 and At World’s End in 2007. Now we have a fourth chapter in the franchise and honestly this is the sequel that a lot of people have been waiting for for a lot of reasons.

On Stranger Tides picks up roughly a while from where At World’s End left off. Jack Sparrow is now on a quest to find the mystical fountain of youth. After he narrowly escapes capture in London, he crosses pathes with a woman named Angelica (Penelope Cruz). Angelica is evidently is an old girlfriend of Jack’s. As it turns out she is also on a quest to find the fountain but Sparrow wants to find it without her help. She manages to get him onboard her ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which is controlled by her father and the main villian Edward Teach aka Blackbeard (Ian McShane). To further complicate things Sparrow’s old adversary Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who has switched sides from pirate to a “king’s man”, is also following him to the fountain with a different agenda.

I said before that a lot of people have been waiting for this film for a number of reasons. The main reason is that a lot of people were divided in regards to their reactions with the last two films. Mostly the third film for that matter. Now I can agree with some of the issues with the third film. At World’s End had problems with the plot. In other words the story kept wandering in too many directions and created too many needless subplots that in the long run made the film suffer a bit. But with that being said, I personally enjoyed At World’s End . It may not be my favorite but it was still a good movie. But in the case of this film, that is something no one needs to worry about because there is none of that here at all. The story in this movie is so simple to understand and follow and there are no needless subplots.

With that being said, my overall reaction to On Stranger Tides is simply this. I LOVED IT. Here is why. First of all the film is pure adreneline fun. It’s pretty much non-stop from the first frame and it immediately hooks you. Also they have added the use of 3D and it actually works well. Mostly because the film was shot in 3D, which makes it even better. Secondly it’s loaded with all of the witty and humoruous lines and actions that I think that we all loved about in the first film. Thirdly and this is my favorite, there are three great cameo appearances that bring some huge laughs. Keith Richards makes a welcome return as Jack’s father Captain Teague. Richard Griffiths makes a small but funny appearance as King George. Last but not least Judi Dench has the best cameo appearance during the opening scene where Jack is making an escape through the streets of London. And last to sum everything up in short, On Stranger Tides is an exciting and thrilling new chapter in the franchise. I would rank it in between the second film and the third film in terms of being better. No question On Stranger Tides is definately way better than At World’s End . Also it had great use of 3D and it comes out amazingly superb. All in all On Stranger Tides is a very worthy sequel that brings back all that pirate magic that a lot of people have been waiting for. Well here it is, so go a theater and buy a ticket, sit down, put on those IMAX 3D or RealD 3D glasses, and have a ball.

Adam Miller

Movies Correspondent and Associate Producer, The RPM Show

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