Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence, some frightening images, sensuality and innuendo
Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Sam Clafiin, Astid Berges-Frisbey
Director: Rob Marshall
When you dip into an oasis of imagination that has by now been siphoned into creative aridity, at some point the end result will come up stagnant and worn.
I'm not really surprised at my lukewarm reaction to this fourth installment in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise; I'm more astounded that boredom didn't set in during the second or third films in the series. That the movie is watchable amounts to little. C-SPAN 2 is watchable, but I'd stop markedly short of calling it riveting.
The goal this time around is the Fountain of Youth. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is in possession of a map, but has been taken into custody by the British high command. He escapes, finds himself in the company of a former flame, the sexy spitfire Angelica (Penelope Cruz). They share a common goal, but for different reasons... Angelica needs the Fountain for her father, Blackbeard (Ian McShane), the pirate all pirates fear. He has been burdened by a prophecy that he will meet his demise at the hand of a one-legged assailant. As for Jack... actually, I don't recall a specific reason for Sparrow's inclination to locate the Fountain. Curiosity, I suppose.
Angelica needs Jack's help, yet Sparrow wants no part of Blackbeard. He is tricked by his former lover, captured and made to perform menial tasks aboard Blackbeard's profusely cursed vessel of bloodlust, replete with blood-soaked sails and an intricate pulley-system that can be controlled with a thrust of the vile pirate's own sword. Also returning to the mix is Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now in the employment of the British fleet. He is dispatched to locate the Fountain as well, but has his own agenda... to exact revenge on Blackbeard after the theft of his most prized possession, the beloved Black Pearl.
While I enjoyed the first three films, none were distinguishably brilliant. (When one of them finds its way to network television, I often find I have to watch for a good hour before I figure out which one it is.) Yet each had its own brush with gleeful narrative creativity. I liked the scene in "At World's End" where Jack cunningly tricks his shipmates into racing back and forth across the ship's deck, thereby rocking the boat to the point where it capsizes... pitchpolling the crew into a whole new dimension. Touches like that are missing from this movie, although it does try to add new artistry to the adventure; things like a tantalizing school of seductive yet deadly mermaids. Somehow, though, the effect isn't quite the same. The endearing flamboyancy inherent in the first three is vacant here. Even the Fountain itself did little to quench my thirst for arresting visual imagery.
It doesn't help that the movie tries putting Jack Sparrow into the straight man role. He's not a straight man persona, and the film suffers for it. As bland as Orlando Bloom's Will Turner occasionally came off in the earlier films, the roles of Turner and Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swan were crucial to their success. The story needed a centerpiece around which the idiosyncratic personalities and bizarre plot developments could linger. The joy in watching Johnny Depp's performances was in wondering what he would do or say next. Forcing us to identify him as the protagonist that holds the film's center drains him of his most endearing quirks, though the movie does bestow upon him the occasional funny line. (When agreeing with a clergyman's plea for mercy, he proudly states "I support the missionary's position!")
The most egregious blunder, however, would have to be the misuse of Penelope Cruz. One thing I counted on was an engrossing array of sexual verbal swordplay between Cruz and Depp, yet they share a small handful of scenes and their dialogue serves only to impart details of the plot. How can you cast someone as sexy and funny and seductive as Penelope Cruz in the role of a fiery swashbuckler and not allow her the freedom to put her sultriest foot forward? Yes, there is the occasional humorous line ("Why is it we can never meet without you pointing something at me?") and a nice verbal exchange near the film's end, but it's a little too little and way too late.
It's interesting, I suppose, that the series has come to a full-circle of sorts. The first movie was created, quite remarkably, from a theme park ride. Now it seems the studio is engineering these films back into familiar theme park rides for the audience. With a competent enough screenplay and skilled direction, these movies can continue to be watchable. Passable. Certainly profitable. Just not terribly interesting. Not anymore.
* * out of * * * * stars
