Well guys, Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tale No Tales is upon us this weekend, so to wrap up my retrospective of the Pirates franchise, here are my mini reviews for the third and fourth films, At World's End and On Stranger Tides respectively. If you want to read my thoughts on Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest beforehand click here to read Part 1.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007) -
Firstly, there's more of an emotional pull involving the failed romance between Davy Jones and Calypso. That really added a lot and it was definitely the heart and soul of the entire film, which made the story feel so complete and have more meaning. It, of course, was exciting to see more of the lore expand with how the Brethren Court played out and whatnot, but the events that lead to the conflict of this film really added so much emotional depth. Not to mention every performance in these films have such excellent screen presence that don't feel exaggerated for this type of film and it's probably easy to go that route, but I really bought into every role.
Of course, the questions that were hanging around after Dead Man's Chest are answered involving why Davy Jones became what he is now, how Barbosa came back, how Jack was able to come back, and what Davy Jones's locker exactly is. There's probably things you could pick apart from the plot, but to me all the big questions were answered and it called for a really solid third chapter in this franchise.
My only issues are that I feel the second act can drag a bit and the film does lose some steam and a similar complaint I have with the first two are that the exposition can be cut down a bit because there's just so much that can be thrown at viewers and if a little too much is thrown around, it can lose that focus I want it to have. Then again, that could be a good thing because on multiple viewings there's more to pick up on in the exposition to tell the story, but maybe it could be a little more concise to get the point across. Overall, to me this is three for three for final verdicts of the series thus far. I just can't get enough of the characters and the adventure that's played out over the course of these films.
Verdict: A-
Apparently At World's End wasn't the conclusion to what was claimed to be a Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. The folks at Disney had the bright idea of developing more films for the franchise and specifically it was at a time probably when Disney wanted to do more for itself. This was before they bought Marvel and Lucasfilm, so to earn more of a profit they probably figured it was the opportunity for them to do more with franchises they already created. I do remember seeing this film opening weekend in a packed theater with a couple friends and really enjoying it at the time. However, not a lot of people seemed to favor the film, in fact, a lot of people out there kinda hate this movie and claim it to be the worst in the franchise. I'll admit this particular entry is my least favorite of the four films thus far, but for me personally, I don't get the hate at all because I still really enjoy watching this film.
Like the first three the environment definitely felt larger than life and it called for more intrigue in the overall adventure. I love that there were always new sights to explore and more characters to introduce, which relates to a strength I have with this franchise and that is to keep expanding the lore. There is so much to add to this franchise and with a fun lighthearted spirit and a fantastic band of characters with personality, I can't help but have fun with this franchise.
Even though I feel a lot more good outweighs the bad, this film does have its issues being that unlike the first three it wasn't as emotionally compelling to get into the story. The stakes weren't necessarily as high, but considering the film was just too much fun to watch, it probably didn't need to break new ground yet it could've called for more of a memorable experience. I also did not care for the romance between the clergyman played by Sam Clafin (Finnick from The Hunger Games) and the mermaid Syrena (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey). That romance just did not need to be in the movie and I felt you could still feel sympathy for the mermaid character without a love interest. It was just very unnecessary. I also didn't think the rest of the ensemble of characters were that interesting and that the absence of the side characters, the Black Pearl crew, were much needed. Other than those flaws to me this was just a really fun adventure sequel from a very underrated franchise. It might not be as great as the first three, but I was still able to be invested in the swashbuckling energy this film had to offer.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011) -
Apparently At World's End wasn't the conclusion to what was claimed to be a Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. The folks at Disney had the bright idea of developing more films for the franchise and specifically it was at a time probably when Disney wanted to do more for itself. This was before they bought Marvel and Lucasfilm, so to earn more of a profit they probably figured it was the opportunity for them to do more with franchises they already created. I do remember seeing this film opening weekend in a packed theater with a couple friends and really enjoying it at the time. However, not a lot of people seemed to favor the film, in fact, a lot of people out there kinda hate this movie and claim it to be the worst in the franchise. I'll admit this particular entry is my least favorite of the four films thus far, but for me personally, I don't get the hate at all because I still really enjoy watching this film.
Granted, this is not a flawless film and nowhere near as great as the first three as I already said, but as a fun popcorn adventure film I thought this film succeeded. Johnny Depp is still perfect as Jack, Geoffrey Rush is still excellent as Barbosa and it was even awesome to see Kevin McNally back as Gibbs, who is such a great side character. I also really dug the new additions in Penelope Cruz as Angelica, Jack's old flame, who was another really fun side character. Not to mention Ian McShane as Blackbeard, who I thought did a wonderful job encapsulating such an evil, menacing presence in this character. He had such great motivation and was a very compelling villain on screen.
Like the first three the environment definitely felt larger than life and it called for more intrigue in the overall adventure. I love that there were always new sights to explore and more characters to introduce, which relates to a strength I have with this franchise and that is to keep expanding the lore. There is so much to add to this franchise and with a fun lighthearted spirit and a fantastic band of characters with personality, I can't help but have fun with this franchise.
Even though I feel a lot more good outweighs the bad, this film does have its issues being that unlike the first three it wasn't as emotionally compelling to get into the story. The stakes weren't necessarily as high, but considering the film was just too much fun to watch, it probably didn't need to break new ground yet it could've called for more of a memorable experience. I also did not care for the romance between the clergyman played by Sam Clafin (Finnick from The Hunger Games) and the mermaid Syrena (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey). That romance just did not need to be in the movie and I felt you could still feel sympathy for the mermaid character without a love interest. It was just very unnecessary. I also didn't think the rest of the ensemble of characters were that interesting and that the absence of the side characters, the Black Pearl crew, were much needed. Other than those flaws to me this was just a really fun adventure sequel from a very underrated franchise. It might not be as great as the first three, but I was still able to be invested in the swashbuckling energy this film had to offer.
Verdict: B+
Safe to say I'm a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and cannot wait to see Dead Men Tell No Tales this weekend. I honestly don't get the hate for these movies and do feel they have heart to them rather than being simply over the top special effects extravaganzas. I have a great time watching these films and cannot wait to see what the new one brings. So stay tuned for my review of Dead Men Tell No Tales very soon and hope that I have a similar viewing experience like the first four. For more updates follow me in the social media links below:
Thank you all so much for reading this retrospective! I wish you all well! As always see some movies and all that good stuff!
Savvy? :-)
Comments