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PoTC: On Stranger Tides

/spoiler/I my self haven't seen it, but is the last scene of the film when Barbossa takes the Queen Anne's Revenge and returns to piracy?/spoiler/
 
Well, just got back from watching it and....I'm disappointed. In my opinion this movie is the worst of the 4.
 
I just saw it last night and loved it.
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I was relieved to discover the Pearl's fate and what becomes of it at the end.
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This is me at the 12:01 am premier at Downtown Disney. I am one sexy pirate.
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Personally, I doubt I ever intentionally see it. I know I wont make an effort to go see it while it's in theaters anyway. Based on what I know of this film, and the history of the previous 3, there is really little that even looks remotely interesting to me in this one.

Even setting aside my aversion to anything Disney, with a few rare exceptions Hollywood has forgotten how to make a good movie, let alone a good pirate movie!
 
I'll hopefully be seeing it tonight at my local movie cinema, Tally Ho at 7:45 (Tally Ho is an old 1920's style theatre reopened about ten years ago though it only has 2 theaters in it. It is a cool environment)
 
I thought about seeing it today but then I remembered I had to pay off a credit card bill, so first comes the bill then the movie :shrug
 
I never saw the movie after all, I was rather disappointed (It wouldn't be the same dressing up as Jack Sparrow on any other day). I may see it tomorrow and still dress up.
 
Legendary_Spider said:
I just saw it last night and loved it.
me.gif
I was relieved to discover the Pearl's fate and what becomes of it at the end.
keith.gif


This is me at the 12:01 am premier at Downtown Disney. I am one sexy pirate.
icon_mrgreen1.gif
Click to expand...



Yesterday was my wife's Birthday, so we HAD to take her to see this movie. While everyone was showing up and getting ready to go I cruised this site. I saw your pic and said "Hey, look at this guy!". There was a chorus of "You better not!", "No you won't!", "Not on my Birthday!". :rumgone

The movie itself was spotty. It started well, but faded.
 
Anyone else see the movie that wishes to give a brief review? I don't think I'll be able to go to see it anytime soon :shrug
 
I saw it on sunday- not bad definitely but nothing really extremely great either...

at least plot was more simple than that of AWE- i was very confused when i first saw AWE- many details required another viewing and I was like "WTF just happened?!":blink: when i came from the theater xD:
still i undertood the plot more than many critics- some things in AWE like Will's decision to lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove were bit unclear first though.....

I didn't felt like that this time- there was not much unclear plotpoints but disappointingly many unexplained things still-

What happened to Ponce De Léon and Santiago- that is very odd place for shipwreck- must've been quite a storm eh? What mermaids exactly are (cursed women or sentient shapeshifting fish or other creatures taking form of woman- on dry land they are normal women altogether so seems that they are women after all) and why their tear is needed for the Fountain?
How does Blackbeard supposedly survive from his real-life historical death Jack even mentions? What happens to Philip and Syrena in the end? How does Blackbeard bottle ships and make zombies and voodoodolls- he can control rigging through his magicsword but does he possess other supernatural artifacts or what?
It also is beyond my understanding why HMS Providence and it's crew uses the wrong union jack- COTBP shows us accurate 18th century union jack '(as well as little flag on Beckett's table and real-life EIC-flag - both seen in AWE) but these guys use the anachronistic 1801-flag with Ireland's cross- while it's even confirmed movie takes place 1750 :facepalm little detail but odd- since there is also accurate jacks in rowing boats of Providence :shock

setting those aside it was enjoyable fun movie, great jokes, awesome action and new great soundtrack by Hans Zimmer- love the Blackbeard's theme and that slightly remixed version of standard POTC-theme used in credits It's just called "On Stranger Tides" i think.....

Ian MacShane was a good choice for a Blackbeard but I must to say whole character was bit shallow and uninteresting baddie- compared to Barbossa or Davy Jones- he was just a bad guy with a cool sword and compassionate daughter- nothing more....... If he wouldn't be based on well-known real life character I would say he is in fact bit boring :cheeky -

there was quite a lot of Barbossa in the film and Geoffrey was great as always...and of course Johnny was still good Captain Jack Sparrow- his escape from the King George was one hilarious scene :j2
Penelope was ok- nothing really to say about her performance- many critics complained that her relationship with Sparrow had no chemistry but i dunno- it worked well enough for me.....
Mermaids were surprisingly working- very scary indeed to see
a pretty girl showing suddenly her vampireteeth :shock:
There was not enough those zombies IMO -- they were there and looked ugly and angry- they didn't do much else- ok
that one zombie tosses jack's voodoo doll from the cliff to "test" if he would survive the jump......and they were there in the battles- one was stabbed by the word in mutiny


One thing movie didn't have was a proper seabattle- i knew they wouldn't have any big one like in AWE- but not a single cannonshot- woah that was disappointing- few explosions and all though but no ship-to-ship battles :(
 
I never got to seeing it on the 20th because of a essay I had to write for school, but I still went the next day with my two friends (and a friend of one of my friends), and the three of us all dressed up like pirates. I was dressed like Jack Sparrow in my homemade costume, and everyone at the theater was asking to take a picture of or with me (a couple of young lasses as well, he he). I even got a free soda due to my epicness (yes I'm bragging, deal with it, lol). I walked like Jack Sparrow and I talked like him as well. I even got a free coke refill when I held up my flintlock and asked for free rum. Now to the movie.

I thought it was very well done, but it could have been better. It wasn't my all time favorite POTC film, but it was hardly my least favorite. What I especially liked about this one was how fresh it was. It had a new, more simplistic storyline that was easier to follow, and it wasn't too long as well. I liked how it dived straight into the action right in the beginning instead of waiting a half hour before a battle. The simpler the better. In a way, this film reminded me a lot of the first one. I really got a kick out of all the jokes that were included in this film. Like the first one, you could actually consider this movie as not only an action adventure/fantasy film, but also a comedy. Here is my favorite line from the movie.

Jack: "You're mean, you know that right?"

Angelica: "I've been told that many times before, but at least I don't smell nearly as bad as you do."

Jack: "You walk like a girl!"

Angelica: "You would know!"


I couldn't stop laughing at that!. Well, now on to the plot! The plot was entertaining, and fast paced (with an exception of the middle which was kind of slow for me) and I liked the whole fountain of youth concept. What I would have liked explained in the movie though is how Blackbeard survived Okrakoke. After watching it, I decided to come up with my own little backstory for him which had him put a double in his place (similar to the Dread Pirate Roberts from the Princess Bride) while he made up with all the gold. He then returned to North Carolina and rebuilt the Queen Anne's Revenge and went to Williamsburg, Va to dig up the remains of his executed crew and turned them all into zombies. As always, I liked all of the characters, and I thought Blackbeard was a very evil and good villain (though I personaly prefer Davy Jones for some reason, I found Blackbeard ten times more badass). I thought he was going to be redeemed at the end, but I was shocked when he wanted to save his own life over Angelica's. Like always, I loved Johnny's acting as well as Geoffrey's. Penelope's character was descent as well, but there wasn't very much chemistry between her and Captain Jack. I thought the movie was missing something big, and these are the two things that It lacked: A descent seabattle, and the Black Pearl. I also did not like how some questions were left unanswered like How did Barbossa become a Privateer? How did Blackbeard shrink the Pearl down? What happened to the old crew? Did Angelica ever get off Rumrunner's Island? Was the fountain of youth in Florida? What happened to Syrena and Philip? How did Barbossa manage to acquire a 19th century Union Jack? What I personaly do like though is how Philip and Seryna's story ended in ambiguity. Even though I loved their characters, I think it would be overkill if they returned for a sequel as there wouldn't really be anything for them to do. Even if I wanted them too, I honestly can't see them coming back.

Even though it seems like it was missing something big and obvious, OST was a good movie, one I probably plan on seeing again at the theater in about a week or so. I liked it better than At World's End and Dead Man's CHest, but not nearly as good as the original movie. Over all, I would give it an 8/10.

Now, here is the question of the day. What did you guys think the movie was missing?
 
Mates and swabbies all,

I went and saw the movie as well about a week after release. I figured I'd avoid the crowd. Its amazing how few people were in the theater on a Saturday night in a major US east coast city. I payed a litle more for the full 3D experience and thought it well worth it. The 3D technology certainly has matured in the last few years. It was incredible! I saw Avatar in 3D and it blew my socks off. While the experience wasn't Avatar, the effect was nothing short of impressive, especially in some of the more exotic locales as well as the in depth action scenes. At any rate, we had some of the best seats in the house and maybe only 10 other people sharing the experience with us.

My first impression after seeing the film is that it was much more comedic in nature than the others. Whereas the first movie had a dark, mysterious, even ominous quality about the (somewhat believeable) back story that made you take it much more seriously while still enjoying the bits of fantasy and light humor interwoven into the story, - alternatively, this movie was much lighter throughout, which although fun in it's own way, I feel diminished the power of both the overly exagerated antogonist, as well as the seriousness of the protagonist's motivation and mission. In fact I feel that they HAD to exagerate Blackbeard, his ship, his crew, and their special powers in order to offer a commensurate counterpoint to the constant comedy.

As a published historian with an MA in history, I can't help but always find the innacuracies in any period picture or literature. However, as a fan of anything nautical and an eccentric devotee of anything in the Pirate genre, I also appreciate the fantastical and mythical elements present in any legend. Yes, I would even say I have a soft spot for the dime novel qualities of these types of offerings. Yes, I am someone who loves the movies Yellowbeard and the original Roman Polanski's Pirates with a passion. I have always enjoyed the POTC series for their artistic attempts at being living, moving Howard Pyle devotional tributes. That said, this movie is out there on the cusp, but there are still a lot of good piratey and artistic qualities about it that make it worth seeing at least once.

The opening of the film was very good, offering dissonant friction and a very rich historical feel while introducing you to the might of the Spanish court and it's attempt to thwart any successful attempt to find the Fountain of Youth. The London sequence was nothing short of fun, but started the unravelling of any historical succinctness. I started banging my head against the seat when they announced they were taking Jack to the Tower of London. *NOTE: The Tower was reserved for royal prisoners (Guests of State) not common pirates who were most often interred in Newgate Prison. However, this was purposely because the King himself wanted to talk to Jack. You see the King is interested in finding the Fountain of Youth as well.

The scene in the court of George the First was straight out of a Three Muskateers movie. While a lot of the acting in the movie was very good, the King's character was awful and overplayed badly. Overlooking the fact that actor George the First has a overly snobby English accent, even though the real George was a German import - *NOTE: because Parliament refused to have any more Catholics or Stewarts on the throne (George was from Hanover - House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, later changed to Windsor to make it sound more English) George succeeded the Dutch King of England William III (Prince Stadtholder of Holland) and he was known to have never learned or spoken English, his exagerated expressions and body language (two thumbs up) was just out there and not funny or believeable. This scene also reintroduces you to Captain Barbossa, now in the pay of the King and sporting an English Naval Captain's uniform as well as a missing leg and crutch (can you say Long John Silver?). Barbossa is commissioned by the King with mounting an expedition to find the Fountain with Jack's resistant help.

The only thing that redeemed this scene was Jack's getaway from the King and it is nothing short of fantastic. Johnny Depp's coordination wowed the audience and his jumping back and forth among all sort of horse drawn conveyances while escaping the King's men will go down in history as one of the POTC movies best scenes ever.

After this scene we are introduced to Jack's new squeeze and Blackbeard's daughter. What are the chances? While I won't spoil the complex and barely plausible plotline here, I will say that here is where the movie stalled. The dialogue became drawn out and unecessary - dramatically taking itself too seriously and wasting space. It seemed like useless filler to me. It was the classical Red Herring fallacy. If we baffle the audience with enough dramatic back story fluff here, maybe the story will be believeable. I'm sorry to say it didn't work. I almost fell asleep.

From here the movie seems to jump from lilly pad to lilly pad with interesting and boring spots - dull....really cool....dull....really cool. The mermaids are pretty cool, but I found their abilities to completely subdue and pull a British Frigate (looked like HMS Rose a.k.a Surprise) to it's doom just plain silly. It would have been way more cool and believeable to have lured it onto shoals or rocks than to just pull the whole thing under the water. The mermaid Serena (hmmm taken from Sirens perhaps) played by the attractive actress Astrid Berges-Frisbey, was very believeable and well played.

Jack's side quest for Ponce de Leon's ship was well done and I especially enjoyed the scene where he finds the decaying wreck of the old Spanish Nao precariously perched high upon a tropical hillside. I couldn't help but draw some similarities her between Stranger Tides and Goonies. One Eyed Willie may have actually been Ponce de Leon. "Not this, - This is for Willie". At this point the movie transitions to the final scenes. I was definately paying attention again, and with the film having a very late climax, was glued to the screen to very end from this point onward.

The final scenes were well done, full of excellent breath taking scenery as we are finally transported to the mystically secret location of the Fountain of Youth. To my surprise, and at the risk of ruining the end, I must mention that the Spanish General's actions at this point were really unexpected, but probably poignantly true to form. I very much enjoyed this twist.

At this point I have failed to talk about Blackbeard and his ship. This is where I was really disappointed in the film. Can you say Disney Hollywood Fubar Fantasy Fruitastic Flim Flam? Historically speaking, this film assassinated the real Edward "Blackbeard" Teach without hardly a thread of authenticity. God rest Edward Teach and the real Queen Anne's Revenge. Ian Mcshane of Deadwood and Pillars of the Earth fame, is brilliant in anything he plays and does this magical zombie making villain credit. Former virgin convent nun and Blackbeard's daughter Angellica is borrowing Jack Sparrow's identity at the beginning of the film and I would say that whatever pirate Ian Mcshane is supposed to be playing does a pretty dreadful job of borrowing Blackbeard's identity. Blackbeard in this movie I feel is a combination of Baron Samedi, Prospero from The Tempest and Darth Vader - he definately knows how to use the Dark Side of the Force. Blackbeard he is not. When he makes his first appearance, they have his beard smoking like the original Gentleman of Fortune was known to do to scare the bejeebeez out of his enemies. After that, there are no further similarities.

Instead of the former "Concord" a 300 ton, twenty gun, slave ship (pierced for forty guns by Teach) built in England about 1710, we are presented a silly monstrosity of a Spanish style galleon of about 1640, guessing 450 tons burthen, with a grossly exagerated stern that was actually built upon the original Black Pearl. This ship is mystically paired to Blackbeard's sword through voodoo incantations and follows his orders magically, with sword controlled cruise control, and living rigging that will snatch up whatever unruly sailors and enemies the sword wielder desires.
The ship also will belch up Greek Fire upon request. Ian Mcshane has rediscovered the secret recipe and delivery means that have eluded so many historians and military inventors since the times of the Byzantines. I was waiting for the ship to fly - thank God it didn't.

Barring all that, the movie had some really appealing themes and aspects. Jack in the end gets what he's been after all along, his beloved Black Pearl, albeit in a bottle. Mcshane's spells have taken every prize and shrunken them into bottles which he stores on board the Queen Anne's Buttocks. I found the ship in the bottle aspect fun and intriguing and enjoyed Jack's looking closely into the bottle at the miniature Pearl tossing and rolling on turbulent glassbound sea. Each time he is assailed through the glass by close-ups of the scowling hiss of the beloved undead monkey that has been a mainstay in all of the POTC movies, that somehow got stuck on board during the spell. My favorite lines from the movie comes from Jack's startled reactions proclaiming how much he hates that monkey. I couldn't help but be dissappointed at the non-climactic end and I was really hoping that Jack would release the Black Pearl from her bottled confines. Maybe next sequel - indeed there are several teasers throughout that there may be another quest and an enduring quality of these movies, like the James Bond franchise, is that it leaves it open ended.

All in all, while they could have done so much more with the material and I blame Disney and Hollywood for not reeling in their idiot writers by making them go back to a history class or two, the movie was a good night out and well worth the watching. Still though, I won't see it again unless it comes on TV, and I won't pick it up on video until the price gets marked down in a year or two. By far, not the best of the POTC movies.

MK

Here's a really good explanation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NefJFHL0dmY
 
I know, I was waiting and waiting for the Pearl to get released from the bottle.
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They have to do at least one more because I really want to see her sail once more in her full glory under Jack's command. At least we don't have to worry about Barbossa trying to steal it anymore..
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Actually, that wasn't George the first depicted in the movie, it was George the second. The film takes place in the year 1750 according to Terry Rossio.
 
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