Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

 by

Santiago Pliego

“Did everyone see that? Because I will not be doing it again.”

This review contains spoilers

            In the world of the big screen, there have been many movies that have started as single stories. Many great single stories have been just that: single stories. No sequels, no prequels, nothing but one enticing and amazing experience that leaves the audience wanting more but understanding that the story ended where it should have. Other stories that should have been left alone, however, are extended into sequels and in the process, loose the original essence of the first experience. Nevertheless, there exist some stories that are written with continuity in mind; with room for more character development and setting expansion. The sequels of these stories, however, are hard to do, because they need to stick to the source point while at the same time elaborate on stuff previously unseen. The Pirates of the Caribbean series started out as a great story, yet it was misused in the next two installments. However, the fourth movie, On Stranger Tides, greatly corrects the mistakes made in parts 2 and 3 and delivers a fun, action-packed, story that is very close to the original.

On Stranger Tides, directed by Rob Marshall (Annie, Memoirs of a Geisha), is the story the British, the Spanish, and the pirates’ search for the Fountain of Youth. The Spanish are looking for the Fountain in order to destroy it, because they deem it a pagan temple. The British send now-privateer and one-legged Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to find it, in order to find the Fountain before the Spanish get there. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) teams up with Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Blackbeard’s daughter Angelica (Penélope Cruz) to find the Fountain, because Blackbeard wants to escape the prophecy which says he will be killed by a one-legged man (Blackbeard stole the Black Pearl from Barbossa and Barbossa wants revenge).

The film does not disappoint when it comes to using the potential of the POTC universe. The cast is superb; Johnny Depp’s performance of Captain Jack Sparrow gives us one of the best, most famous characters in recent films. His mannerisms, language, lines, and actions are all consistent with the previous films, and provide the strongest linking point between the four movies of the series. Geoffrey Rush and Ian McShane, Barbossa and Blacbeard respectively, give intensely real performances of evil, wretched pirates who care about nothing but themselves. Penélope Cruz, another newcomer to the series, plays the Jack’s anti-hero and love interest surprisingly well, and makes for an excellent female character replacement for Keria Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann. With the innovative, fresh look at the franchise coped with a new director come several changes too, some good and some bad. Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner do not return, and neither does their cheesy and repetitive storyline. Pintel and Ragetti, the crazy duo from the previous film, do not return, and they are certainly missed. Unfortunately, one of the things this film lacked was sea battles. Unlike the previous films where ships would always engage in impressive sea battles, Rob Marshall sticks to swashbuckling action only. Also, his use of the soundtrack—one of the best soundtracks of all time, this time with new variations—is a little bit over the top. Instead of introducing certain themes when some characters or situations are on the screen, On Stranger Tides is accompanied most of the time by a soundtrack which may become repetitive in film. By itself it is an exquisite composition, but its overuse in the movie slightly dampens the expectancy of hearing specific themes at specific times, a device that had been used before and had become a mark of the POTC franchise. Cinematographically, the film looks very vibrant and changes colors all the time: bright blue and fresh green in the islands, toxic yellow in the pirate-laden bars, and posh green and white in the London royalty settings. And of course, any POTC film is incomplete without stunning and ridiculous fight scenes, which in this film are masterfully choreographed and executed as well as they are filmed, although the lack of sea engagements leaves the audience with a small hole that hopefully will be filled up if any other sequels are made by Rob Marshall.

When Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End came out, most people considered the franchise dead. The conclusion to the series was so loose and empty that audiences not only felt disappointed but also cheated. Therefore, it is fitting that On Stranger Tides deals with themes of redemption since the film itself aims to redeem the series. Unfortunately, the film is better are redeeming the series than at presenting a story of true redemption. Throughout the film, Blackbeard, Angelica, and Jack are accompanied by a missionary named Philip. In many instances, Philip says that “any man’s soul can be saved”, specifically referring to Blackbeard, who is willing to shoot his own daughter in order to escape the prophecy that he will be killed by a one-legged man. Philip, though, falls in love with one of the items required to use the Fountain: a mermaid. When Blackbeard forces Syrena to shed a tear that is required for the ritual, Philip becomes angry at Blackbeard’s evilness and says that any man’s soul can be saved, except his. Jack, in a conversation with Philip, says, “Clergyman, on the off chance that this does not go well for me, I would like you to note it-hearing now-that I am fully prepared to believe in whatever I must, and be welcomed into that place where all the "goody-goodies" want to go once they pop their clogs. Savvy?” Jack understands that he must start believing in something if he wants to go where “all the goody goodies” go, thus partially realizing that at that point, if he dies he won’t be going to Heaven. As the movie continues, we start to see that Jack is becoming less selfish and more concerned about other people, especially Angelica. He’s on the trip because he knows the way to the Fountain, not because he wants to drink it or use it. He also loves Angelica and wants to protect her, even at the expense of him getting hurt or jumping off cliffs. However, it is in the end when the redemption storyline of Blackbeard and Philip and the redemption storyline of Jack get together and ultimately fail. When the Spanish, the British, and the pirates all converge at the Fountain and fight for the control of it, Barbossa hurts Blackbeard with a poisoned sword and Angelica is also wounded. The Fountain, however, requires among several items, two people to work: one drinks water from a cup with a mermaid tear in it, and the other drinks only water. The person who drinks the water only will be killed, and his years will be added to the person who drinks the water with the tear in it. Even though Angelica is dying, she is ready to sacrifice herself for her evil father; however, Jack tricks them at the last minute, and Blackbeard ends up dying and giving his life to Angelica. Here’s the thing: Blackbeard gives his life unwillingly, tricked by another wicked man, and the person who receives the life of the other does not want it. True redemption, of course, does not work that way.  Philip, also mortally wounded, goes to Syrena with the hope that she will heal him. When he meets her, he has to apologize for the treatment she has received at the hands of the pirates, and then he goes on to her for his healing: the missionary hails a mermaid as his savior and hope, instead of praying to God for deliverance. In the very end, Jack and Angelica are together, yet Jack understands that because he tricked Angelica into drinking the tear-water, she will try to avenge her father’s death. Therefore, Jack maroons her in an island, thus abandoning his incomplete redemption prize, as it were, and showing that he saver her only because in his eyes, she was another possession to be had, because he did not understand her heart and struggle with her father. If he had, he would have let her go and sacrifice herself, but as a greedy pirate, he just can’t let his treasure be lost.

Overall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a fun and exciting summer adventure/comedy that is a lot better than its two predecessors, yet that does not deliver a completely coherent message or a Christian message. The story had the potential to tell a story with a powerful and true message of redemption, but unfortunately it seems as if the curse of these films is that they have great potential yet they do not exploit it. On Stranger Tides will still make you laugh and get excited about the action, but the story does not sail beyond a dazzling, spectacular show.