Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
knight0fswords and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides yesterday. We didn't pay the extra money to see the 3D version, but since 3D tends to give me a headache, saving that money was a win-win. Yea!
Overall, I liked it. It's Johnny Depp playing Jack Sparrow, so really what's not to like?
The plot was thinner than I would have liked, and I didn't buy the whole Jack/Angelica grand passion back story as much as the writers probably hoped I would. In fact, I was surprised, but I didn't think Depp and Cruz had much on-screen chemistry. Two gorgeous people, both good actors, but no spark. ~shrug~ At the end, I just didn't care one way or the other that Jack marooned her on that island, and I should have cared.
The best relationship in the entire movie was between Philip the missionary and Syrena. knight0fswords and I sat through the ending credits for that tiny little last scene in hopes it would be a glimpse of what happened after Syrena swam away with him, but we got Angelica and the Voodoo doll instead. Cute enough, but not what we'd wanted.
Geoffrey Rush was wonderful as always, and the explanation of how he lost his leg sent a little chill up my spine, but that was strictly due to Rush's delivery of the last line of his tale. Ian McShane made a good Blackbeard, and the character was suitably evil. I did feel sorry for Angelica, having Blackbeard as a father. Cruz did a good job conveying Angelica's desperate need to care for and be loved by her father.
The mermaids were wonderful. All that beauty and grace combined with all that viciousness was just brilliant, although knight0fswords as I laughed over how painfully (and obviously) careful Disney was never to reveal even a flash of breast.
All in all, the movie was long on action and special effects but rather short on plotting. There were too few glimpses of Jack's manipulations. For things to work out the way they did in the very end, Jack must have been manipulating several things, always plotting and planning ahead, but there was virtually no evidence of it. One thing that made Jack so successful as a character (at least to me) are the little actions he takes that seem so contradictory to either his own success or the success of others, but then there's that Ta da! moment, and it's revealed he was working an angle all along. Although, with Jack Sparrow, it usually turns out that he was working an entirely different angle altogether. But there was precious little of that, just deus ex machina after deus ex machina. :(
Keith Richard's appearance as Teague was short but effective, and it was nice to see confirmation that Teague truly does care about his wayward son, at least enough to warn him about the trial of the Fountain. Dame Judi Dench as the affronted but willing woman in the carriage was laugh-out-loud funny, as was Richard Griffiths' King George's interactions with Jack, and the cream puff was a lovely touch.
However, as I said, I really did like it, and the Spanish contingent provided lovely eye candy, as did Barbossa's privateer officers. ;)
ETA: There's spoilers in the comments, too. ;)
Overall, I liked it. It's Johnny Depp playing Jack Sparrow, so really what's not to like?
The plot was thinner than I would have liked, and I didn't buy the whole Jack/Angelica grand passion back story as much as the writers probably hoped I would. In fact, I was surprised, but I didn't think Depp and Cruz had much on-screen chemistry. Two gorgeous people, both good actors, but no spark. ~shrug~ At the end, I just didn't care one way or the other that Jack marooned her on that island, and I should have cared.
The best relationship in the entire movie was between Philip the missionary and Syrena. knight0fswords and I sat through the ending credits for that tiny little last scene in hopes it would be a glimpse of what happened after Syrena swam away with him, but we got Angelica and the Voodoo doll instead. Cute enough, but not what we'd wanted.
Geoffrey Rush was wonderful as always, and the explanation of how he lost his leg sent a little chill up my spine, but that was strictly due to Rush's delivery of the last line of his tale. Ian McShane made a good Blackbeard, and the character was suitably evil. I did feel sorry for Angelica, having Blackbeard as a father. Cruz did a good job conveying Angelica's desperate need to care for and be loved by her father.
The mermaids were wonderful. All that beauty and grace combined with all that viciousness was just brilliant, although knight0fswords as I laughed over how painfully (and obviously) careful Disney was never to reveal even a flash of breast.
All in all, the movie was long on action and special effects but rather short on plotting. There were too few glimpses of Jack's manipulations. For things to work out the way they did in the very end, Jack must have been manipulating several things, always plotting and planning ahead, but there was virtually no evidence of it. One thing that made Jack so successful as a character (at least to me) are the little actions he takes that seem so contradictory to either his own success or the success of others, but then there's that Ta da! moment, and it's revealed he was working an angle all along. Although, with Jack Sparrow, it usually turns out that he was working an entirely different angle altogether. But there was precious little of that, just deus ex machina after deus ex machina. :(
Keith Richard's appearance as Teague was short but effective, and it was nice to see confirmation that Teague truly does care about his wayward son, at least enough to warn him about the trial of the Fountain. Dame Judi Dench as the affronted but willing woman in the carriage was laugh-out-loud funny, as was Richard Griffiths' King George's interactions with Jack, and the cream puff was a lovely touch.
However, as I said, I really did like it, and the Spanish contingent provided lovely eye candy, as did Barbossa's privateer officers. ;)
ETA: There's spoilers in the comments, too. ;)