I kicked off my summer movie theatre experience with a series i am very fond of. The pirates are back, well some of them. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Gibbs (Kevin McNally) are the only original left from the crew of the Black Pearl. And that is very upsetting considering that the pearl crew made these movies what they are today. The good part about it is that Sparrow is at his finest yet, with his wise ass remarks and ridiculous escapes from captivity. And just when you think hes too drunk and delirious to function, he is out of the cuffs and swinging above everyone on route to what his heart desires most. In Pirates 4 his black compass leads him in the direction of the fountain of youth.
The introduction of Penelope Cruz is a must for this movie and maybe a few more if Keira Knightly is going to be absent. Her and Depp are back to their usual perfect chemistry as displayed in the hit Blow. In Pirates they seem to be more of brother and sister with constant bickering but obvious affection. And even with a pistol or sword held at each others necks there is still a sense of dedicated love. I think only Depp and Cruz could pull that off as nicely as they did. And i have to give Cruz a little extra credit for shooting while being prego. Her sister Monica was shown in full body cuts and did a very nice job, considering she is almost as beautiful as Penelope.
Geoffry Rush (Barbosa) created a nice rivalry with Ian McShane (Black Beard). Black Beard is on his search for redeeming his soul while Barbosa is trying to get revenge on his stolen ship. McShane does play the role well being a merciless scumbag pirate type. His lack of compassion for anyone is the perfect pirate character that this movie needed. Barbosa is another example of the real pirate i like to see. The audience is not supposed to feel bad for a pirate or see them as the protagonist. Even though Sparrow kind of broke that rule, i dont see him as a true pirate anymore. When is the last time he had a ship and a full crew, or even a steady job scrubbing the deck of a ship. He is a wanderer comedian, escape artist, drunk, romantic, and master swordsman. But i dont think pirate would be the best title for Jack Sparrow, i think its the dreds and hat that sways us into believing he is actually a pirate. But one thing is for certain, Sparrow saved this movie.
To be honest i do not think this movie was that good, but looking on the bright side like i always do, Depp was the arm held out while the rest of the movie was hanging off a cliff. Without him there would be no laughs, protagonist, or classic pirates feel from the original Black Pearl. It would just be a bunch of sword fights and dirty pirates doing dirty things. Under new director Rob Marshall the rating did stay at PG-13 and it is very obvious why. I can understand that move to broaden the audience, but i like to see obscenity behind pirate values. It is especially frustrating when there is so much violence without blood and gore. And then theres Penelope walking around a bunch of sailors and not being violated once, come on , really? I was hoping with a new director there would be a closer to R rating, but i guess thats just what the pirates movies have been and always will be. This movie is the beginning of a new Pirates saga that will continue for at least 2 more movies because it is set up for that. Do i think this is a good idea? Probably not, It should of ended at worlds end.
Grade: D- (61%)
Actors:
Johnny Depp: Recent Work (Rango, The Tourist, Alice in Wonderland) Future Work ( The Rum Diaries, 21 Jump Street, Dark Shadows)
Penelope Cruz: Recent Work (G-Force, Nine, Broken Embraces) Future Work ( Venuto Al Mondo, Bop Decameron)
Geoffrey Rush: Recent Work ( Warriors Way, Legends of the Guardians, The King's Speech) Future Work (Green Lantern, The Eye of the Storm)
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