If I had to summarize the film, I would say it consists of numerous moments of action/adventure, humor, and mystery that are well worth the price of admission (probably just a matinee though), but as a whole the film doesn't entirely work for me. In this respect it has more similarities with AWE than COTBP or DMC. I would still recommend it, and I actually enjoyed myself (especially in the moment) so from me it gets a very low 4/5. That's the same rating I gave AWE (w/ the first two getting 5/5's from me).
On paper (and even in most of the film) the plot works: Jack rekindles an old flame and searches for the Fountain of Youth all while trying to stay ahead of the pirate Blackbeard, the Royal Navy, and the Spanish. And yet, there are elements of it that don't work for me.
To start, Blackbeard's relationship w/ Angelica just seems forced. She didn't need to be his daughter. She could've just been another female pirate (similar to Anna Maria in COTBP) w/ her own crew. She, Jack, and her crew get captured by Blackbeard's ship and that's how they get connected.
Another problem for me was the lack in developing new characters. As much as I don't think it was neccessarily a bad idea making Jack the lead character (he was always billed as much in previous outings) he didn't really have a developed straight man for a foil. Barbossa is just as crazy as he is, Blackbeard is evil, and Angelica is too similar to Jack.
The closest you come to it is in the character of Phillip the missionary. He was the closest to be fully developed of the secondary characters, but still fell short. Make him the lead. Or what about the boy that was part of Angelica's crew? He had a sort of Jim Hawkins vibe to him, make him the lead. Or at least give him an actual role. Maybe it would've been too similar to "Treasure Island" but it would've given the film a fresh point of view.
I remember watching
Prince of Persia a few months back (another Jerry Bruckheimer/Disney collaboration) and really digging Alfred Molina's character. To me, his character was Jack Sparrow's fifteen or twenty years down the road. Which got me thinking, why not have Jack play a more supporting role in future installments? Its called Pirates of the Caribbean, not The Adventures of Jack Sparrow. He can still play an essential part of the film, just don't introduce him until later in the film.
I'm bold enough to say wait till halfway through the film to do so, savor the character. That would allow the writers, director, and producer to explore other elements of the pirate verse while still utilizing the character (and he would still be in it enough to use him for marketing). I know other people might not agree, but I thought not seeing Jack for the first 30 minutes of AWE was brilliant. The first part of the film is easily my favorite and it only features about 5 minutes of Jack.
One of the other underdeveloped plot elements is the Spanish. When they're on screen, they're easily one of the most entertaining parts of the film. I mean, considering they're the characters who get the search for the fountain going, its a shame they aren't featured more (a sea battle between them and the English, or any other ship for that matter would've been appreciated).
But I have to say, my biggest disappointment was Blackbeard's zombie crew. Considering this is the franchise that gave us cursed skeletons and Davy Jones' crew, they were a major let down. I know the budget was lower than the last few, but make them more interesting. Make them scary. Or at least have more of them (I swear I saw only two the whole time). The film should've shown people from Angelica's crew being turned into zombies, or have Blackbeard raise people from the dead, or maybe even the side effect of the fountain is that you live forever but are a zombie.
Even Gibbs, one of the few remaining characters, felt underused. In the middle he dissapears for an extended period of time, which they explain later but still makes you wish he was around more (although he is put to good use in the beginning).
And as for the plot/structure, considering this is the shortest film in the series, its strangely convoluted and rambling, and yet it has the most streamlined plot. This is especially true once they reach the island of the fountain of youth. There's a lot of characters running around, leaving groups, coming back, hidden intentions revealed, etc. that don't always seem neccessary or make the most sense. And this is where its similar to AWE in a lot of ways. Sure, AWE was confusing w/ everyone double crossing each other, but I found it makes more sense upon second and third viewing. This just seemed unneccessary
especially when Jack was running around the island on his own. I don't even remember a lot of what happened there except thinking it was unneccessary. |
I would've rather seen more plot fill the run time than simply stretching it.
The action is also not as exciting as it should be. W/ the exception of one sequence (which I'll detail later) there's nothing memorable that lives up to the ship battle in COTBP, the three way sword fight and Kracken attacks in DMC, or the maelstrom sequence in AWE. A sword fight early on is reminiscent of Will and Jack's first duel, but while parts of it are interesting, its just a reminder at how better the other ones were shot.
One aspect that I found interesting but underdeveloped was the
Blackbeard and Barbossa plot line. I liked the whole "one-legged man" dream that Blackbeard fears because he knows it will lead to his death, felt like a plot element in a spaghetti western (actually it reminded me more of the witch and Azeem from Prince of Thieves, but also similar to western characters speaking of a man in black coming or something). But I felt that Barbossa serving the Royal Navy wasn't the means to achieve it. I didn't believe that he would join them just to hunt down Blackbeard (its a stretch to think he would get to kill Blackbeard just by doing that). I would prefer to think that Barbossa lost his ship and crew to the Royal Navy and was the offered the chance to either hang or serve, similar to what he makes Gibbs choose between. |
Also, I feel like Barbossa has lost his edge. He's closer to the character in AWE than in COTBP. In the first film, Barbossa was the villain so he had to be terrifying. Just because he's swapped sides a couple times dosn't mean he should lose that.
I'm also not sure whether making him captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge is the proper way to take his character. Sure I like that we get the old Barbossa back, and the ship is easily one of the most inventive parts of the films, but it seems like the film is crisscrossing its mythology a little too much. The Black Pearl I could always imagine as being both Jack and Barbossa's ship, even the Flying Dutchman to me seemed like it could be both Davy Jones and Will Turner's ship. But the Queen Anne's Revenge seems like a Blackbeard only vessel. |
Otherwise, I enjoyed the direction his character took took.
So my main critique is underdevelopment. I know they wanted to start fresh and keep the story/characters streamlined, but why not take the time to explain a little more, whether through dialogue or action. Is Blackbeard alive or in a zombie mode as well? (I went in w/ a little knowledge of his history and legend, still couldn't figure out whether or not he had been beheaded before).
Whew, enough about negatives. Lets move onto some positives... (which will take another post)