Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush
Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes
Genre: Action / Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy
Location watched: Empire Cinema
Synopsis:
Johnny Depp returns to play the iconic character of Captain Jack Sparrow. This available-in-3D-adventure witnesses Captain Blackbeard, Captain Barbossa and the Spanish fleet racing to find the Fountain of Youth with Jack as their compass, crossing paths with deceiving mermaids on their way. Penelope Cruz makes her appearance in this film as his love interest.
Mell Says:
(4/5)
Highly entertaining and mindless are things that come to mind when I try to recollect this movie I watched last night. In most cases, that would do the job for me. After all, cinema-going is meant to be a form of escape. But the good things that were supposed to stand out in this movie could actually be turned inside out to be a one-star loss for me.
Captain Sparrow had the usual drunken swagger we’re accustomed to; not to mention his silly antics swinging from tree to tree. You don’t get caught up in the details of the stunts, but character development was not touched here. At centre stage was really the chase for the Fountain of Youth, which shares its deep moments with various stories across. Each scene and character was well introduced as spending too much time on each of the 10 backdrops would’ve been overkill. The plot would’ve been chaotic if it weren’t so entertaining and we have to give Rob Marshall a high five for that.
Bad news for the youngsters used to pretty icons in Pirates of the Caribbean (read: Orlando Bloom): you’ll get old haggards running the ships and leave you cringing if it weren’t for the Disney quality of the screenplay. You forget about them as I did about my aching bladder halfway into the film. It’s a two-hour flick, like I said and you won’t remember it being so. You will walk away, though, wondering if Jack was really needed. I was left being reminded that Pirates of Caribbean will have a never ending sequel and yet I’m left thinking that’s okay simply because I still can’t discern what ‘On Stranger Tides’ was really about (yes yes, the Fountain of Youth). *Spoiler coming up*: I mean, was Penelope Cruz’s character really Jack Sparrow’s love interest? Or Rob Marshall’s attempt to throw in some excitement?
Four out of five stars for making me stay in my seat.
(4/5)
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