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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

movie review by David Blackwell

 

137 minutes, rated PG-13

ASPECT RATIO:  2.35:1

STUDIO:  Walt Disney Pictures/ Jerry Bruckheimer Pictures

Theatrical RELEASE DATE:  5-20-2011

 

STARRING Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow), Penelope Cruz (Angelica), Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbossa), and Ian McShane (Blackbeard)

DIRECTED by Rob Marshall

Jack Sparrow goes to London to rescue his old friend and crewmate from a hanging.   he gets pulled into a couple of traps.   His old enemy, Captain Barbossa, is working for the British as a privateer and want Jack to lead them to Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth.   Also in the race to get to the Fountain are the Spanish and Blackbeard.   Jack escapes from the British to find out who is recruiting a crew under his name only to bump into Angelica, an old flame he betrayed long ago.   Jack soon finds himself on Blackbeard's ship against his will where Blackbread can control his ship (the Queen Anne's Revenge) like a living thing with his magical sword.   A mermaid's tear and two silver chalices are required to drink from the Fountain of Youth.

 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES is an entertaining sequel.   Yet it is bloated and runs on for a little too long.   The character development isn't very well written.  The Spanish come off as undeveloped villains while some may not buy the priest falling for the mermaid (maybe the actors don't have enough chemistry or the script could have developed it a little more)  the action sequences are great and so are the locations.    Blackbeard is worse than Barbossa who wants revenge on the man who took his leg and the Black Pearl (which is trapped in a bottle).   He is a little tame where one can't quite buy Angelica's efforts want to help Jack.   Jack has a little change of heart in this film and yet the sequel does feel a little rudderless at times.   It doesn't have the sense of adventure and danger like the first three films.      Sometimes the jokes fall flat and the film doesn't have the expert hand of Gore Verbinski in the director's chair.   ON STRANGER TIDES is like a film made to fill the sequel quota because I wish they did a better job on this one.

 

this movie review is (c)5-25-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without pemrission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com