Swashbuckling Captain Sparrow returns for the fourth instalment of what was originally planned to be a trilogy. They keep on coming, more outrageous and sillier each time. This time we have supermodels as evil mermaids, zombie-fied sailors…
In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, swashbuckling Captain Sparrow returns for the fourth instalment of what was originally planned to be a trilogy.
They keep on coming, more outrageous and sillier each time. This time we have supermodels as evil mermaids, zombie-fied sailors and the appearance of the formidable Blackbeard.
The treasure is not gold or jewels but a legendary Fountain of Youth which has never be successfully reached before. Everyone is trying to get there before the Spaniard who righteously wants to destroy the foundation and save humanity. Few, if any, of the other characters are likely to be as familiar with Psalm 36.
Penelope Cruz appears for the first time as Sparrow’s former love interest Angelica and daughter of Blackbeard who is played by Ian McShane. McShane’s character is summed up by his wonderful line: “If I don’t kill a man once in a while people forget who I am.”
Other great gems in the dialogue include “Sparrow, you walk like a girl!” and “We’re taking the ship. Its nothing personal.”
In fact, if sexy banter could be redeemed for gold sovereigns there would be no need for Sparrow and Angelica to ever look at a treasure map again.
This is something of a re-invention of the Pirates franchise with many new faces compared to the first three movies. Keith Richards is the exception and appears on both part three and four as Sparrow’s father (and gets one of the most memorable one-liners).
Despite the new line up, it is still darkly set, quite scary and obviously inappropriate for younger children. The action sequences (basically chases and fights) are very slick and in 3-D you find yourself dodging cutlasses in your seat.
The special effects were subtle but still great: 18th century London is suitably grimy, the ship’s timbers shivered and even the mermaids looked very real (or maybe that was casting).
Sure there will be questions about how long the formula can continue to work but with number five already in the pipeline, it’s a pirate’s life for me!
Mark Brighouse 18 May 2011
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