Undulations

A sequel to an exceedingly success movie is never an easy cake to handle. When the sequel is to a trilogy that has already achieved epic status, it’s harder to make away without a scar - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides largely manages to make off with this feet - but is the fourquel as nearly as mightly as it’s predecessors?

There’s one thing that any self respecting fan would do before setting off to watch On Stranger Tides - any self-respecting fan that has not already watched the film a dozen times and etched every dialog in his heart, that is - watch the three previous films of the sequel, brush up on the complex and twisty storyline, making sure that you will miss no passing reference in the movie to it’s sequels. And so did I. When the movie was in to its course, I soon realize that this attempt was wasted - this is the film that bears least connections with its prequels.

Also, the storyline is not half as deep as the prequels. Each moment of the prequel held plot twists, interesting revelations, or stories narrated by various characters, On Stranger Tides progresses in a much linear and simpler fashion, with significantly less screen-time and importance. The complicated and nearly incomprehensible storyline had garnered the series both fans and critics - so essentially, the critics might turn fans and the fans critics with the latest addition. In fact, other than Sparrow, Black Beard (the epic pirate that appears as the main antagonist of the film), and Angelica (Penelope Cruz’es character), the other characters are relegated to feeble supporting roles, unlike the series’ predecessors.

Of the new characters, Penelope does a good job playing Angelica and filling the scenes - Ian McShane’s portrayal of the Black Beard looks intense, but he misses on the fierceness and brutality in his mannerisms - there’s almost a glint of compassion in his eyes at most of the scenes, which is a strict no-no when it comes to Black Beard.

Of the original characters, only three members (not counting a cameo appearance by Jack the monkey) are seen making a return - Gibbs, Barbosa, and Jack Sparrow himself. Of these, I’m not sure I can count Barbosa himself - besides the name and face, he’s rather completely changed - he’s lost the Black Pearl, lost a leg and is now the Captain of the King; having trimmed his filthy beard, and dressed in a neat navy suit and hat - “yuck!” was my first response - Barbosa was much more enjoyable the other way.

You are certainly going to miss the rest of the crew, who made the series what it is - there’s no Marty, Cotton or his parrot; there’s no Pintel and Ragetti (my personal favorites) and even Gibbs appears in just a handful of scenes. Neither the new characters nor Barbosa (version 2) make the film as enjoyable as the people, and if it wasn’t for the effort from Depp, the film would have missed its mark.

Also missing are the typical ‘Jack Sparrow moments’ as well as ‘Pirates’ moments - the first twently minutes of the film are pure Jack-magic, but that’s about it - you will see only fleeting sequences of his witticism for the rest of the film. The trademark long sentances and quips; the witty remarks Jack make each turn, all are relegated to a few moments - and in fact these moments more often feel like tacked upon the film and feel artificial.

Finally, filming in 3D was not the wisest decision,  in my opinion. Much of the film take place in dark and murky environments, with the 3D glasses on, these look nigh incomprehensible. In fact, neither me nor my friends I went with were wearing the glasses for the better part of the film - the occasional spinters, water droplets and sword-pushes simply weren’t worth the headache, squint and the sacrifice of good colours and contrast. A quick note to the makers, if I may - Pirates doesn’t need the added dimension in the visual; just make sure that the many dimensions of the story are not lost.

These downfalls aside, Pirates 4 is by no means a bad movie, it quite flawlessly tells the story it has to tell, and though a tad slow, is never on the boring side. I won’t recommend watching it in 3D though - find out if there is a 2D presentation going on nearby, or wait till the DVD’s hit the shelves.

Verdict: It’s like how the Alps stand up against the Himalayas - the film is indeed a glorious film, but simply not as mighty as it’s predecessors. But if the next one doesn’t star a few more from the classic Pirates characters, I’m not going.