Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

 

On Stranger Tides is the fourth and probably final movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It was directed by Rob Marshall and stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffry Rush, Sam Claflin, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, and Kevin McNally. Depp, Rush, and McNally, of course, were reprising their roles as Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa, and Gibbs from the original trilogy.  This movie was obviously set up by the final couple of scenes of At World's End when the Fountain Of Youth story was teased. This picks up at some point after the end of the prior movie with Jack and Gibbs in London, running into Barbossa, who now works for the crown. They all end up in a race with Blackbeard and the Spanish to find the Fountain. Intertwined in the story is Penelope Cruz's character, who has a past with both Jack and Blackbeard. Much of the cast from the original trilogy is not present in this movie (including Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly). The main "supernatural" characters in this movie come in the form of mermaids, who appear about halfway in.

The movie has more of the darker tones from the second and third movies of the "main" trilogy, but does incorporate humor here and there, especially between Rush and Depp. While it does have some humorous and lighthearted moments, they are not as frequent as in The Curse of the Black Pearl. There are, of course, a lot of action sequences and CGI work. The CGI in the film looks great, but it does seem that they did what they could to build real sets, so not everything was computer-generated. There was probably more suggested sexual innuendo in this movie (although nothing overt) than in all the others. Thankfully, the running time was kept to just over 2hrs, and it did not feel like it was dragging like Dead Man's Chest and At World's End seemed to.

While the A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is great, this release is the lightest on extras of all of the physical media releases for the movies in the franchise. There is no separate disc with bonus features. Everything is included on the movie disc. The "big" extra is the ability to play the movie with the in-movie experience that pops up windows throughout the movie that allows you to get a deeper insight into the film. Then, there is a blooper reel, a few deleted scenes, and a few behind-the-scenes featurettes. If you are a big fan of all the Pirates movies, then this will be worth adding to your collection. If you fall into the camp where you liked the first movie and started to get sick of them by the third movie, then you are probably not going to like this enough to buy it. There is not a ton of character development throughout the film, save for the few new characters that show up, but it mostly relies on the assumption you know who everyone is. The story is good but not as good or fun as in Curse of the Black Pearl. If that is the only movie in the series you really liked, then you may want to limit yourself to just having this on in the background or skip it altogether. Ultimately, the story was okay but nothing to write home about and while the movie is entertaining, I would not say that it really needed to be made. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

 

At World's End is the 2007 entry into the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and was the final film in the original Pirates trilogy. The movie was directed by Gore Verbinski (who directed the first two movies) and brought back the main cast members, including Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly, and Orlando Bloom, and sees the return of Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. This movie is set a few months after the events of Dead Man's Chest, with the group trying to find a way to rescue Jack from Davy Jones' Locker and then take down Lord Cutler Beckett and Davy Jones.

This seems to be the movie in the franchise that people either love or hate. I happen to be one of the (seemingly) few people in the middle. I do agree that the film is way too long. At just under 3 hrs, it takes much longer to get where it ultimately went than needed. That said, like all the movies, the visuals were stunning, the special effects even more seamless than in the first two movies, and the final battle between the Royal Navy, The Black Pearl, and the Flying Dutchman was awesome. Some of the humor of the first movie was sprinkled into this one, but on the whole, it had pretty much the same darker tone as Dead Man's Chest. Depp and Geoffrey Rush played off each other well, which provided most of the comedy.

The A/V quality of the movie on Blu-Ray is again outstanding. The extras are similar to what was included for the others. There are lots of making-of and behind-the-scenes features, a gag reel, and some deleted scenes. There are not as many deleted scenes for this movie's release as there were for the first two movies.  At this point, you will likely know how you feel about the movie (and the franchise in general). While the movie could have easily been cut down by about 20-30 minutes, it brings the original story to a satisfying conclusion and has a good blend of action and humor. If you like the films and want the extras, then the Blu-ray is definitely worth adding to your collection.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

 

Dead Man's Chest is the 2006 sequel to Curse of the Black Pearl. The movie is again directed by Gore Vabinski and sees the main cast of Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightly return to their roles as Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann, respectively. This is the movie where the Pirates movies took a darker, more serious tone. It lost a lot of the humor that was in the first movie, which I think made that one so good. Not that there was no humor in this one, it was just darker humor, and while Curse of the Black Pearl did not really take itself ultra seriously, this one did. This movie also felt like it took a long time to get through. Like the wheel fight gag, while humorous and fun at first, took like it took forever to pay off. The big additions to the cast in this movie are Bill Nighy as Davy Jones and Stellan Skarsgard as Bootstrap Bill. 

The story this time centers around Jack trying to outmaneuver Davy Jones and the Kracken that he unleashes on those that owe him a debt (and really anyone who gets in his way), and Will finding out what happened to his father. Jack Davenport returns as Commodore Norrington, still acting as a foil to Jack and the crew, but this time in a much different capacity. While Geoffrey Rush was the standout in the first movie, I think Davenport was the standout in this one, stealing most of the scenes he was in.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is again top-notch. The special effects are even better in this one, and the "monster-like" characters in this one are even less fake-looking than the undead pirates in the first movie. In fact, the only spot you can really tell that the shot was against a green screen is one of the shots with the Kracken toward the end of the movie. Other than that, everything looks seamless. There are tons of extras on the blu-ray as well. Much more than (although pretty much the same type as) were included in the extras for the first movie.  The extras include several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, a movie showcase, and more. The is well over three hours' worth of material for those who like to go through the bonus features.

The movie is not perfect. This is the movie where a lot of people who liked the first movie but ended up hating the franchise seemed to take a turn. While Curse of the Black Pearl could have really been one stand-alone, great movie, I do think this one gets more of a bad rep than it deserves. Liking or disliking a movie like this is very subjective, but if you go into it knowing that it may not live up to what the first one was, and is not a carbon copy of the first one (which would not have worked either) then I think you can find this enjoyable. It has a very good blend of action, comedy/humor, and drama and is worth the time to watch. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is the original movie in the Pirates franchise from 2003. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and starred Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Jack Davenport. The supporting cast included Kevin McNally, Zoe Saldana, Mackenzie Crook, and Lee Arenberg (among others). The movie was the breakout role for Knightly (as a lead), who was just 17 years old when the movie was filmed, the second big franchise appearance for Bloom (who had made the first two Lord of the Rings movies), and was a career resurgence for Depp, who starred in what is clearly his signature role, Captain Jack Sparrow. The movie involves a group of Pirates (led by Rush's character, Captain Barbossa) trying to track down the final pieces of stolen Aztec gold that caused a curse to be placed on those who stole the gold. They plan to return the gold in order to lift the curse and in the process, end up kidnapping Knightly's character, Elizabeth Swann. Bloom, who plays an apprentice blacksmith named Will Turner, teams up with Sparrow (who has his own agenda) to rescue her. 

Chances are, by now, most know enough of the movies to know what they are and are not. Curse of the Black Pearl was obviously the first in the chain of "Pirates" movies, based on the ride at the Disney Theme Parks. The movie takes elements from the rides and weaves them into the story. It has the most basic and probably least bloated storyline of the entire series of movies. And, it is probably the one that does not seem like it takes 2+ hours to sit through because the story is fun, and the pacing is so good.

The movie centers around the three characters, Captain Jack Sparrow (played wonderfully by Johnny Depp), Will Turner (played by Orlando Bloom), and Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightly). Apart from the main three, there is a huge ensemble cast made up mainly of character actors, all of whom play much larger roles in the movie than in any other movies they have appeared in. As good and original as Depp was in the movie, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa stole every scene he was in. The scenes with Rush and Depp together were the best part of the movie, in my opinion. 

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is awesome. The picture quality of the movie was the one that prompted me to start investing in Blu-Ray. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray was, at the time the movie was released, reference quality. The extras include a ton of behind-the-scenes and making-of features, as well as deleted scenes and a blooper reel. It also includes the TV special about the making of the ride that aired in the 1960s. All in all, you get a good 2 plus hours of material.  Ultimately, it is a very good action-adventure movie. It had the perfect blend of action, mystery, thrills, and humor. It definitely did not take itself too seriously, something that cannot necessarily be said for the sequels, and really wrapped up its part of the story by the end. You can, however, see the seeds they were sewing for the subsequent movies by leaving Will's background a mystery. It is absolutely worth the time to watch, and you definitely will not be disappointed with the picture and sound.