I liked Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. What is wrong with me, right? More than enough of the reviews for the latest entry in the massive Disney saga based on a theme-park ride have been nasty, barbed, and altogether harsh. One of the reviews went so far as to say that watching the movie was worse than eating maggot-filled meat (something that the reviewer experienced a few years ago). Anyone who knows me knows that I'm more often on the side of critics than I am of the masses, so am I finally turning into a brainless zombie, someone who gleefully enjoys the newest pablum from Hollywood's blockbuster machine?
The answer, of course, is not, but before I defend--and based on how few reviewers liked it, it will sound merely like a defense--Captain Jack Sparrow's most recent adventure, let's talk about some of these reviews. I have no idea why there's so much bile being leveled at this movie. There have been bad blockbusters, movies that deserve the vitriol from journalists in print and online. When the third Transformers movie opens in late June, I eagerly await massively scathing reviews, but expect some critics to either be shocked that it's bad (as they were with the second film, seemingly forgetting how inept, loud, and stupid the first film in the franchise is) or to say that, well, it could've been a lot worse!
I suppose I could mount the same argument for the new Pirates movie. Following up a widely disliked movie is hard, but by not releasing a three-hour, overcomplicated epic, director Rob Marshall and producer Jerry Bruckheimer succeed at not providing an equally overstuffed piece of craziness. But I have to admit, I was surprised to enjoy the movie as much as I did (though, don't get me wrong, it's not perfect, nor nearly as fun as The Curse of the Black Pearl), simply because when most critics say a movie is bad, I'm usually agreeing with them (or avoiding the movie, because I don't want to waste my time). Maybe it's because I genuinely enjoy watching Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush as Captains Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa, but I liked this new movie, even as I note that having Rob Marshall direct a Pirates of the Caribbean movie is a lot different than when Gore Verbinski was behind the helm.
I was skeptical, since Marshall had never directed an action movie. In terms of directing swordfights, for example, Marshall still has a lot of work to do, as pointed out by many critics. The only thing I'd point out has less to do with this movie and more to do with Hollywood: Marshall has as much work to do to become a solid director of action sequences as pretty much EVERY director does. Again, Michael Bay has been making a name for himself for 15 years and counting by editing his action sequences to the point that they're more reminiscent of visual seizures more than anything else. Marshall's work was not uniquely bad; the few swordfights in the movie aren't great, but they're also not too terrible. Two other criticisms: while the movie isn't that long (at 137 minutes, it's the shortest in the series), cut out the love story between a cleric and a mermaid (because, of course), and you've saved me a lot of time on a story that no one cares about. Finally, I didn't see this movie in 3D, but even I noticed that the movie seemed darker than it should. I can't imagine how bad this movie looked in 3D, even though a few shots were clearly filmed so they'd be "Gotcha!" bits in the 3D format.
But I liked this movie; I like Depp, I like Rush, and Ian McShane did a fine job as Blackbeard. Would he have been better had he been able to use the same vocabulary he did when he was on HBO? Well, sure, but this movie's not for adults only. Some aspects of the story are as notably silly as they were in the previous films, or not as well developed as they could be (the idea of people or ships being controlled by a magical sword is really cool, but the mythology of the idea goes no further). Still...OK, this is becoming more about the movie's flaws, which are noticeable, and less about the fun I had. I'm not sure how much of the movie's charms come from Depp, Rush, and Penelope Cruz being able to elevate the material, and how much of it is just wanting to watch a fun piece of entertainment on a hot day.
I didn't love Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but I only love the first in the franchise. The worst thing I could say about one of these movies is what the execs at Disney don't want: that I wouldn't want to watch another movie with these characters. Clearly, that's not happening with this movie. If you can put characters like Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hector Barbossa in fun, exciting storylines with some supernatural flair, I'm there. I can wish all day about what this movie could have done better, and hope about what will be done for the next film--which we all know is coming--but this movie didn't completely screw up the franchise, in the way that the last two movies did. If, however, the next movie is directed by someone closer to Verbinski in terms of style, though, I won't complain.
No comments:
Post a Comment