Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

The biggest plus point about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is that it is closer to the first film ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl’. It is not surreal and confusing as the last two films ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ and ‘At the World’s End’. And while it just cannot trump the excitement and exuberance of the first film, but of the four films of the franchise, this is the second best yet.

Mermaids, zombies, silver chalices,magic swords and the Spanish have entered the popular mythology of the Pirates of the Caribbean .It starts off with the map of the Fountain of Youth that Jack Sparrow rowed into sunset with, at the end of the third film. On Stranger Tides is Disney’s attempt to infuse life in Pirates of the Caribbean,quite appropriately by letting the pirates chase the Fountain of Youth. And for me, it works and for most parts of it, it works pretty well.

Captain Barbossa now a privateer sanctioned by King George, the dreaded pirate Blackbeard aboard his ship Queen Anne's Revenge and the Spanish all are hunting for the elusive fountain with the elixir of life. On Stranger Tides is about the quest to get there, and in true pirate fashion there are crosses and double crosses along the way. And Jack has got ‘stirrings’ if not feelings for the feisty Angelica (Penélope Cruz), his ex-flame, who may or may not be the daughter of Blackbeard. That she and Jack have great chemistry together is evident is encouraging for the future films .

Pirates of the Caribbean is Disney’s prized franchise which grew from a fantasy ride to a multimillion dollar money spinner and it is unlikely that this is the last of the pirates film. And given the way the story has been left open, there is scope for atleast one more film. Those who stayed until the end of credits will know that Angelica has Jack’s voodoo doll while Jack has walked away with Gibbs with a sackload of miniature ships and is trying to figure how he can get his beloved Black Pearl out of the bottle .

The reason On Stranger Tides does not seem as swashbuckling as it could have been , is because there is not that much of an element of surprise in it. It is especially difficult to find novelty in sequels. Moreover Jack Sparrow is at the sidelines most of the time, never upping the ante himself .He is surviving cunningly and picking the right side of the battle. That is one of Jack Sparrow’s features but that leaves the audience wanting more of him.There are some clever lines in the film and the memorable lines as always mostly from Jack .

Jack to Gibbs: I hate that monkey.

Jack to Angelica: If you had a sister and a dog, I will choose the dog.

Angelica to Jack: How is it that we can never meet, without you pointing something at me?

Jack to Blackbeard (after being caught red handed and cornered): Captain I wished to report a mutiny; I can name fingers and point names.

Jack to Gibbs (about Angelica): I have got stirrings.

But my argument is that Pirates of the Caribbean is so huge because of the pop-culture icon that is Johnny Depp’ Jack Sparrow. And inspite of cutting a lot of characters he has not got enough time on screen.Let him run riot and not play the second fiddle. His charm is inexhaustible, so why hold Sparrow back? Put Angelica and Jack in little love triangle next time and let them sail to Cape Horn, the southern-most tip of South America with a healthy prize for him at the end of it all.

Coming back to the film, it has got a good score with music from Hans Zimmer and the Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. The locations of Hawaii are beautiful but not exactly pristine.It gets a wee bit slow when the mermaid Syrena is captured ,though as against the general notion going around,i didn’t find it too long. It is good pirates film, which is entertaining. Let’s leave it at that and expect more from Pirates of the Caribbean: V.