Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

[Elladorine]

Btw, have the smiley's been downgraded or something?

So I'm not the only one to notice.

[PatrickvD]

Saw it for a second time today, and I enjoyed it much more than the first time.

** SPOILERS **

Why did Syrena go to the fountain to help Jack? What did she owe him? Was it just about seeing to it that her tear was not wasted?

That's one of the three things I'm confused about. Number one, did Serena save or kill Philip? Number two, is there some special way that Serena got from that pool to the Fountain, or is it just a plot hole? And number three, why did she go?

Spoilersss

My interpretation of their final scene was that she saved him. He was wounded and probably dying... and so she saved him. It was mentioned earlier that 'a mermaids kiss saves you from drowning'

[Barbossa]

Finally saw it tonight. Here's my quick little review I put on Micechat:

Loved it. Simpler story. It reminded me a lot like Raiders of the Lost Ark, including the super natural climax at the end. There are four pirates I would like to see return in the next movie though: Cotton, Marty, and Pintel & Ragetti, oh, actually make that five, and Anamaria. Bring on Pirates 5 and 6, and more if they're up to it!

I watched it in 2D and still got 2 tickets left from the Blu-Rays so I'll probably see it in IMAX the second time around.

[Disney-Fan]

Saw the movie yesterday night. Went to a midnight showing - not a good idea by the way. I really had trouble keeping awake during the final act - overall very enjoyable, despite some mishandled plot points (as previously mentioned in this thread). The main thing that stood out for me was a negative one, and that is Blackbeard. It's apples and oranges but I just don't feel he had the presence, menace or awesomeness of Davy Jones. He just seemed to "be there" the entire movie. I hope the villian for the next installment is a bit more threatening than Blackbeard.

As for the good: While I thoroughly enjoyed parts 2 and 3 for their storyline "complexity", a more straightforward story was a welcome change of pace and reminded me of Pirates 1. The story was interesting, the mermaids were an awesome addition to the Pirates universe and Penelope's character holds promise if she's to be featured in future installments. Favorite line for me would be: "Did everyone see that? Cause I will NOT be doing that again!" As for ranking, I'm gonna be blasphemous and rank it slightly below At World's End:
1. Curse of the Black Pearl
2. At World's End
3. On Stranger Tides (close call really, subject to change)
4. Dead Man's Chest (a mess of a sequel, a definite fourth place and likely to stay last throughout the rest of the series)

7/10

[Barbossa]

Favorite line for me would be: "Did everyone see that? Cause I will NOT be doing that again!"

My two favourites were...
Jack's "I support the Missionary's position!"
- um ok, didn't expect that kind of adult humour in a Disney flick. I laughed out load when he said that.
and the second was of course Keith Richard's,
"Does this face look like it's been to the fountain of youth?"

[sunhuntin]

with syrena and getting to the fountain, i assumed there was some form of underground stream connecting the fountain to the pool where she was tied up, and then from the hole to the ocean. i would love to know what happened with phillip.[ it certainly seemed like he went willingly with her so id like to think she saved him.]

[Scarred4life]

and Anamaria.

Annamaria!!! I've wanted her back ever since the first one.

[pap64]

Just came back from watching Pirates 4...

I LOVED IT!!!!

Seriously, I loved it much more than I expected! I read some of the bad reviews and some of the more lukewarm comments, and I suspected the movie might not live up to expectations. But it did!

Now here are my thoughts on each of the film's elements:
The Story: It is indeed a far more streamlined and "clean" plot than the previous sequels. Even if it followed many side stories, I think they were all fit nicely into the main plot. They also had great resolutions, enough to promise a follow up but end it well enough so in the event they don't make a Pirates 5, they were at least wrapped up nicely. The one side story I felt was kind of weird and tacked on was the Philip and Syrena story. In a way, I get that they were trying to say that mermaids can be more than just the ruthless beings that they are, but it kind of felt like it was added at the last minute. It was, however, well presented enough that it didn't distract much from the main storyline.

Another thing, in another review I saw before watching the movie, the reviewer said that the movie lacked the danger and thrill the other movies had. I partially agree with that. It did have many exciting moments, but it didn't feel as dangerous as before. In "At World's End" nearly everyone was racing against time in order to stop a great evil who can control the seas, then gain that power for themselves. They unleashed Calypso, which created a massive maelstrom, and the characters had to fight with it. There was also the Kraken in the second movie where it would appear out of nowhere and destroy ships in nearly an instant.

"On Stranger Tides" feels a bit more like a race. Sure there was the danger of the mermaids, but the danger was toned down a bit this time.

Still, I think this benefits the movie a lot. It plants a lot so if they do another movie they can build upon that rather than just unloading everything on the audience.

Angelica: I'll be honest with you, I thought Angelica was going to suck. To me, it felt that the writers wanted to add a female pirate since Elizabeth is long gone. Plus, since she is far more "busty" and beautiful than Liz, it looked like they tried to sell her as Pirate's main sexy pirate. Come to find out, I loved her! She is an interesting, cunning enough that she is interesting to watch but still has an interesting story. I loved her interaction with Jack. She knew how to fight back Jack's witty banter.

Blackbeard: He was a great villain. While I still like Davy Jones and Barbossa better, I think he is a nice mix of the two. He has some of Barbossa's campy mannerisms and Jones's supernatural presence. I liked the power he had over objects, and he was indeed very ruthless!

Barbossa: The twist in his story was nicely well done, and easily my favorite part of the movie. I loved how much he grew from "At World's End" to "On Stranger Tides". In fact, he changed so much that Jack kind of paled in comparison. And speaking of which...

Jack: He was still very charming and funny to watch on screen. However, I have to agree with the person who said that he worked better with other people than by himself. There were still many funny solo Jack moments, but his scenes with Angelica, Barbossa and other characters were better, IMO.

Despite some flaws, I had A LOT of fun with the movie. It is a massive improvement over "At World's End", and I can't wait to see it again on Blu Ray when it comes out.

[Barbossa]

"On Stranger Tides" feels a bit more like a race. Sure there was the danger of the mermaids, but the danger was toned down a bit this time.

The way that I summed it up was that it felt like an Indiana Jones movie. Either Raiders or Last Crusade. Basically a quest for a macguffin, but they had to find smaller macguffins first before the big one, and then the supernatural villain demise at the end - very Indy like.

[pap64]

"On Stranger Tides" feels a bit more like a race. Sure there was the danger of the mermaids, but the danger was toned down a bit this time.

The way that I summed it up was that it felt like an Indiana Jones movie. Either Raiders or Last Crusade. Basically a quest for a macguffin, but they had to find smaller macguffins first before the big one, and then the supernatural villain demise at the end - very Indy like.

Yeah, that sounds about right. The other movies, while they had their own McGuffins, were more about the war the characters had with each other on a personal level. This is more about everyone getting to the McGuffin with some moments of character development.

EDIT: Oh yes, forgot to mention... Am I the only one that saw Harry Potter's mean uncle playing the King of England?

[UmbrellaFish]

I saw this movie on Sunday, and I absolutely loved it!

I can never accurately judge a movie after seeing it once in a theatre, so I'm not going to go as in-depth with my thoughts as most of you... but, these bad reviews really do perplex me, especially the ones that say this movie didn't have a plot, which it most certainly did. Not as crazy and complex as the past two, but it was there.

A lot of people I know who have seen it say there wasn't enough action, but I thought there was a wee too much. I totally didn't miss Will and Liz, but I do like Phillip and Syrena. Everybody was top-notch in this movie actually (McShane, Cruz, Rush, Depp). It was thoroughly entertaining! I liked it so much, I might just see it again, which is definitely rare for me- in fact I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie more than once in theatres.

Definitely a day-one purchase, too!

[ajmrowland]

EDIT: Oh yes, forgot to mention... Am I the only one that saw Harry Potter's mean uncle playing the King of England?

I mentioned it in my brief review in the "what movie did you just watch?" thread. I was surprised.

[pap64]

I saw this movie on Sunday, and I absolutely loved it!

I can never accurately judge a movie after seeing it once in a theatre, so I'm not going to go as in-depth with my thoughts as most of you... but, these bad reviews really do perplex me, especially the ones that say this movie didn't have a plot, which it most certainly did. Not as crazy and complex as the past two, but it was there.

A lot of people I know who have seen it say there wasn't enough action, but I thought there was a wee too much. I totally didn't miss Will and Liz, but I do like Phillip and Syrena. Everybody was top-notch in this movie actually (McShane, Cruz, Rush, Depp). It was thoroughly entertaining! I liked it so much, I might just see it again, which is definitely rare for me- in fact I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie more than once in theatres.

Definitely a day-one purchase, too!

I think what they mean is that the action was on a smaller level when compared to the previous sequels. For example, Dead Man's Chest had the Bone Cage scene, the rolling mill scene, and the Kraken scene, while At World's End had the Davy Jones's Locker scene and the fight on the malstrom scene.

On Stranger Tides had much smaller action sequences in favor of a narrative focused on character interactions.

As for the plot, I've heard people say that it was TOO complex. Which is...weird. I mean, parts 2 and 3 were INSANELY complex. This one was actually easier to follow...

SPOILERS

At the end of the third movie, Jack spent his time trying to find both the Black Pearl and the Fountain of Youth, failing at both. During this time, while Barbossa was the captain of the Pearl, he was attacked by Black Beard. In the process he lost his leg and the Pearl, which was then retained by Black Beard and kept inside a bottle. As a way to gain revenge, Barbossa becomes part of the British royalty, which gives him access to a ship and a crew. Using the British royalty's desire to gain the fountain of youth as an excuse, he embarks to gain revenge on Black Beard.

This is where the prophecy comes in. Black Beard, knowing that he will die at the hands of Barbossa, wants the fountain of youth to destroy the prophecy. In order to do so, he needs two chalices and a mermaid's tear. One cup will be taken by the person who wants eternal life, the other will be taken by the person who will be sacrificed.

The Spanish army, knowing about Ponce de Leon's search, embarks on the journey to destroy it.

Angelica was impersonating as Jack just so she could gain a ship and a crew and embark on the journey to find the fountain of youth.

They try and find a mermaid, and are attacked by a bunch of them. They manage to capture one, Syrena. Philip, the clergy man, falls in love with her. Black Beard uses this to try and get a tear out of her, and he does.

When Philip gets stabbed, he returns to Syrena and frees her. She then kisses him and brings him underwater. The reason why is because her kiss will bring him back to life as well as allow him to breathe underwater.

The Spanish army then appears and destroys the fountain of youth, but the water is enough for Angelica and Black Beard to drink it. Jack pulls a trick of them, and Black Beard becomes the sacrifice while Angelica lives on.

Barbossa regains Black Beard's ship and his powers, and becomes Captain Barbossa once more.

Jack regains the Black Pearl, leaves Angelica stranded on an island, and sails into the horizon. Angelica, on the other hand, finds the Jack voodoo doll, which means he might start planning her revenge on both Jack and Barbossa.

END SPOILERS

Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

[Barbossa]

EDIT: Oh yes, forgot to mention... Am I the only one that saw Harry Potter's mean uncle playing the King of England?

I mentioned it in my brief review in the "what movie did you just watch?" thread. I was surprised.

Why so surprised? Richard Griffiths has been in a ton of movies, including the second Naked Gun movie. I've seen him in a bunch of TV movies as well.

[ajmrowland]

I just havent seen him in all that many, and I wasnt expecting him in Pirates 4.

[Victurtle]

It's always cool when you see an actor you didn't know was it in the film pop up on screen.

[monorail91]

I was really disappointed - I loved the first three Pirates movies and this one just didn't seem up to par to me. I thought Serena's line "Don't waste my tear" or whatever was laugh-out-loud bad.

[disneyboy20022]

I just havent seen him in all that many, and I wasnt expecting him in Pirates 4.

He also was in this other Disney Movie with Adam Sandler



as the Hotel Chain Owner Barry Nottingham

And I thought this was the King based on the trailers but it's not...it's Lord John Carteret



And I found that out on the IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298650/

[Barbossa]

So according to a post over at Micechat, On Stranger Tides will be hitting Blu-Ray and DVD on September 20.

In the words of reyquila; I'm buying!

[UmbrellaFish]

So according to a post over at Micechat, On Stranger Tides will be hitting Blu-Ray and DVD on September 20.

In the words of reyquila; I'm buying!

I saw that on Blu-Ray.com. But doesn't that feel early? I want to say that past Pirates movies came out in November, but perhaps I'm wrong.