PotC 4 - On Stranger Tides

[hereswith]

I'm a little surprised there have been so few posts about On Stranger Tides, but my reaction in short was: I enjoyed it, but it didn't give me the same sense of excitement that the first and to some extent the second movie did. A few more spoilery thoughts under the cut. Also, there are spoilers in the comments.

Comments

[djarum99]

Yes, yes and yes. I did have a wonderful time watching OST, and it was fantastic to see Jack and Gibbs and Barbossa again. A lot of questions crept in with the second viewing, including all the ones you've mentioned here. Blackbeard's costume was much more evocative than his dialogue, and I expected much more of the zombies :-) I do admire Penelope Cruz and her work, thought she was perfect for the role, and found myself rewriting each scene she was in and looking around corners for Angelica's motivation. Still, the film had its share of great moments - fierce mermaids, that carriage ride through London, Teague, and Dame Judith!

When all is said and done, I'm forever in love with the pirates, and happy to see Jack's story continue. All in all, I guess, OST is really a fanfic writer's dream, though I doubt that was its creators' intention - so many backstory gaps to fill, so many unanswered questions.

[hereswith]

You shouldn't include zombies in a movie if there's no point to it, as it was now they might as well have been ordinary, if brutal, people. *grumbles* I think I fell out of love after AWE, so it will never be quite the same again, but I can apparently still find it all enjoyable, which is good :-)

[hope27]

I haven't had the chance to see it yet...I promised a friend I'd wait until I see her again to see it with her, so I'm waiting patiently. However, I had to comment on this part of your post:

It was probably in part because I don't like Penélope Cruz, but the character as such didn't click for me either. I realise that she was supposed to be this tough, fiery pirate, a match for Jack, but I didn't feel it. And I couldn't quite understand, considering Blackbeard's behaviour, why she was willing to sacrifice everything for him.

I have wondered about this character ever since we knew she would be in it. Because, really Elizabeth was that "tough, fiery pirate" (she became that), "a match for Jack." That was/is Elizabeth in my eyes. So to have another character come in and try to be *more* of that or replace Lizzie was going to be tough, I thought. :)

But I am excited to see it just to see Jack back in action with Barbossa and Gibbs!

[hereswith]

Jack is in most scenes, so he's definitely back in action, and you'll like that, I'm sure. But yes, I also view Elizabeth as a match for Jack, and the thing is, I never got that impression from Angelica. At least to me, it seemed Jack had the upper hand in that relationship. I won't say more right now, since my post was spoilery enough, but it would be interesting to hear your opinion when you've watched the movie!

[geekmama]

I think the thing that the Powers-that-be don't quite get is that element of real camaraderie that blossomed during CotBP, and continued to bloom during the sequels, even when the principal characters were at odds with each other. The friendship was something special in #1, the hurts in #2 and #3 were serious because of that, and ultimately they ended in enough unity in #3 that fanfic ironing out the wrinkles was possible. Jack, Barbossa and Gibbs have that kind of friendship in #4, but it wasn't really as discernible with Angelica. And the Syrena/Philip romance seems almost peripheral to the rest of the story, unlike the W/E/J relationship in CotBP.

I'm glad you posted your thoughts about the movie!

[hereswith]

I hadn't thought of that, but you're right, of course, and that changed both the dynamic and the tone. The different characters' stories were more intertwined in the previous movies, whereas here they ran on parallel paths, so to speak. Like Syrena and Philip, who had very little to do with either Jack or anyone else. And did Blackbeard ever interact with Barbossa? I don't remember that he did.

ETA: Barbossa and Blackbeard. *headslap* I obviously wasn't thinking straight there, because of course they did, during the final confrontation.

[hereswith]

Barbossa felt off for me too at times, I don't know what's with T&T and their preference for doing a complete 180 with a character. Also, on the list of unanswered questions: Gillette and Groves serving under Barbossa? Angelica was... more a type than a fully drawn character, I would say, very much the "pirate wench".

*nods* It often seems little thought goes into the story in movies and tv-shows. I suppose the script (and scriptwriter) isn't seen as that important, it's all about the special effects, especially when it comes to the big blockbusters, but still, it's frustrating. And it's very easy to use magic as some sort of blanket explanation.

[hereswith]

I wasn't happy with the casting either, I was hoping they would pick someone lesser known for the role, but now I'm not so sure the character would have been more interesting even with another actress playing her.

That might perhaps make you a somewhat disillusioned fan, but certainly not a bad one. *hugs*