Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I am willing to put up with this once. If this series is going to continue, the inevitable truth is that Cpt. Jack needs to be phased out. He is a character that will hold a place in cinematic history (thanks to Johnny Depp's brilliant interpretation) not just as the most famous pirate on film, but as one of the best comedic characters of all time. However, there is still a limit to my tolerance of his antics. He can only get away with managing to single-handedly tie up a group of British soldiers so many times. Without a fresher set of characters to carry us through, this series will become exhausting. Some will say that it already has, but I was willing to endure this 4th installment with its enjoyable use of mythology and a few new set pieces.

Rob Marshall takes the reins from Gore Verbinski and brings a slightly fresher take. Had he done "Curse of the Black Pearl" I'm not certain that his style would have made that film as appealing as what it was, but now that the franchise has been firmly established this became more of an exercise in plug-and-play than artistic creation. Marshall's work ranges from the 2002 Best Picture recipient, "Chicago," to the flop that was "Nine" in 2009. Fortunately for Marshall he doesn't have to worry about a flop here, at least financially.

I did miss the usually gorgeous cinematography of Dion Beebe, who has worked with Marshall on his past films. Darius Wolski's work is appreciated as it has been in all the previous 'Pirates'...but I feel that Marshall's potential as a director is restrained a bit without Beebe (who worked on "Green Lantern" last year instead).

Marshall did, however, bring along Penelope Cruz, one of his actresses from "Nine" (and one of that film's Oscar nominations), who really adds some energy to the show (and Jack's libido) as Angelica. Much like her Oscar-winning role in "Vicky Christina Barcelona," she is a very intimidating figure but yet manages to swing it in a humorous manner. Needless to say, I'd put my money on Angelica to take out Elizabeth Swann in a brawl.

I appreciated the use of mermaids as very deadly creatures, for it aligns more accurately with myth, whereas most film portrayals go down a docile path. Instead of collecting human gadgets as Ariel did (I secretly wish there had been some sort of partial reference to Ariel in the course of the movie), these creatures collect the humans themselves by shooting seaweed reminiscent of Spider-Man's web and then dragging their victims underwater.  One of our side stories features a bond between a mermaid captured by Blackbeard's crew and Philip, a missionary also being held captive by Blackbeard. Philip brings with him lots of talk about Christianity, which is something interestingly new in the previously religious-free 'Pirates' universe, but on the whole his character serves the story well.

At times, "On Stranger Tides" seems to be lackluster, as if it exists just because it can (and to make insane profits). Even Geoffrey Rush's Barbosa has far less presence as a character, whereas previously he was a highlight. There's a good amount of work to be done if Disney is going to manage to create a new trilogy here. 'Pearl' gave us a lot to build from for future films, but 'Tides' doesn't exactly provide a foundation for the future nor does it leave us thirsty for much more. Expect a 5th movie, but unless major restructuring begins to occur, pray to avoid a 6th.