Jack is back, and the king of Disney pirates doesn’t disappoint in the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides (in theaters May 20, 2011). While this Orlando Bloom and Keria Knightley fan missed the adorable couple, Penelope Cruz made for a dashing female pirate and Ian McShane was a dangerously evil as Blackbeard. Geoffrey Rush returns as Barbossa, Jack’s pirate frienemy while Gibbs, the ever faithful first mate, provides a steady link to previous installments. And Johnny Depp… well, he continues to reign as pirate supreme and the perfect tragic hero.
Having watched The Curse of the Black Pearl and At World’s End over the weekend before catching On Stranger Tides, I felt well caught up on my pirate lore heading into the theater last night for a media preview.
With sword fights galore and a plot based on myth and legend it was a true pirate adventure. As the pirates raced both the English and the Spanish across the sea in search for the legendary fountain of youth, they encountered zoombiefied officers, a magical sword, a bit of voodoo and, of course, mermaids.
An odd note, for sure, is that for a pirate movie, this installment spent a great deal of time on land rather than the high sea. But even on land Jack manages to escape many a precarious situation using his signature no-holds-bar moves. He is classic Jack Sparrow as other could portray.
While I was well caught up with my pirate lore (just in case), even if you haven’t seen the previous movies in a while or (gasp) at all, you will find that this story stands alone with no previous background required. Although I always think it is more fun to catch up on the franchise.
For those who love their pirate movies (like myself), Disney left the door wide open for the next installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. Since has been four years since the last movie, I won’t hold my breath on a new movie any time soon, but I like the idea that another could be headed our way.
Yo-ho, yo-ho a pirates tale it be…
Disclosure – I was invited to a media preview to facilitate this review.
Betsy says
We are debating on taking our 4 and 6 year olds this weekend. Do you think it would be too much for them?
jen says
Ummmm, that’s tough because everyone is different. I would not take my 3 year old, however, there was a little girl no older than 4 with two older siblings around 6 and maybe 8 in the preview event I attended. In addition to daughter frightening easily, I don’t think she would follow the story without a LOT of questions. IMO – I would say wait for DVD, but if they have seen the other installments on DVD, then maybe.