May 20, 2011 07:37 PM
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Jack Sparrow is back! (Sorry, there should be a ‘Captain’ in there somewhere). But is it too late? Have the tides sailed? After all, the pirates made their last stand about 4 years ago in At World’s End.What is left for them now?
4 years later, with a new director (out goes Gore Verbinski, with his penchant for the convoluted and the supernatural and in comes Rob Marshall) and almost a complete revamp of the cast (only Gibbs, Sparrow and Barbossa survive the cut from the main cast), the Piratesfranchise is back with a severe lack of rum (alas) but more swashbuckling scenes (Ole!). Is it a willing compromise? After all, after 3 films, there’s only as much you can see of Jack Sparrow. Running off kilter with dreaded fashion sense is still the cure me hearties! Jack Sparrow is not done with you just yet…
Plot:
Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) arrives in London to find that Jack Sparrow is alreadyin London! After all, who is this imposter? As Sparrow puts it – “I’m here to save myself, from me!” Along the way, he is captured by the British; finds out that Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) has now switched sides and working for the Crown. King George (a hilarious caricature played by Richard Griffiths) implores Sparrow to find the Fountain of Youth before the Spanish. Sparrow, of course, denies and flees, in the way that only he can (he calls it ‘improvisation’; I call it ‘luck’). But Barbossa catches hold of Gibbs (first mate of the Black Pearl, played by Kevin McNally) who knows about the location as he has memorized the map. Jack heads off to find the other ‘Jack’, only to realize that it is his old flame Angelica (a sultry Penelope Cruz) and is literally forced onto Blackbeard’s ship The Queen Anne’s Revenge(Angelica turns out to be Blackbeard’s daughter). Sparrow is coerced into looking for the fountain by Blackbeard and Angelica (he has the compass that shows the way to what a man wants most) because of a prophecy that foretells Blackbeard’s death in the next 14 days by a ‘one legged man’. And so begins the rat race – the Spanish, the British (with Barbossa) and Blackbeard (with Jack) also racing to reach the Fountain of Youth. But everyone has different motives for the journey…
There is the usual quest – ritual for the fountain is to find to silver chalices and a mermaid’s tear. Plus, there is also a half hearted romantic subplot thrown in with a captured mermaid and a clergyman (Sam Maclafin). But then again, that’s just fillers anyway…
Jack Sparrow, one liners and the return of drunken wit:
It may seem a bit of an oxymoron – to mention ‘drunken wit’ as such. Yet, the banter between characters is full of wit and the best bits come out when they are drunk/drinking (the awesome scene with Jack and his dad, played by Keith Richards). In fact, there are a lot of quotable lines to take away from the film that will have you splitting down the aisles. And most of these are of course, reserved for Jack:
Jack: Mr Gibbs, I find you guilty of being innocent of being Jack Sparrow.
Jack: Have you been to the Fountain?
Jack’s dad: Does this face look like its been to the Fountain of Youth?
Jack: I swear that I could be mistaken due to the lighting around here
Jack: So you lied to me by telling me the truth?
Jack: I had… ‘stirrings’ for this girl
Gibbs: You mean feelingsJack?
Jack: No, no… nothing that profound… just ‘stirrings’ you know…
Gibbs: (gives him a – don’t try to pull that one on me look)
Jack: Oh alright… feelings. Whatever you want to call it!
Fans of absurd humour would love it. In fact, there are plenty of laugh out loud moments in the film. In fact, I would go in as far as terming that this film is more a comedy than fantasy/action/adventure. Even the villain Blackbeard (Ian McShane) is touched by the sardonic and his biggest weapon is black humour, more than anything else. Scrum, the pirate on board Blackbeard’s ship provides buffoonery for all to enjoy. Even Penelope Cruz gets in on the act – conjuring up stories and trying to manipulate Jack:
Angelica: I’m having your child Sparrow
Jack: But as far as I remember, we never did…
Angelica: You were drunk
Jack: Love, I’m never thatdrunk.
Blackbeard is not really that scary and nor are his zombie crew, or his powers which include voodoo and rope control, but that’s alright. His evil-o-meter is replaced by black humour and that me fellows, is a trade that I’m willing to accept. This new chapter is all about Jack Sparrow, one liners and having fun, first and foremost. The romantic subplot almost ruins the genius comedic undertone, almost…
3D or not 3D?
As far as the viability of 3D goes, I have mixed feelings. People will definitely find the film a lot darker (as in not bright) in 3D, which it is actually not, if you see the same without glasses. However, swashbuckling scenes, swordfights and especially the mermaid sequence came alive in 3D. However, 2D would be a viable option, as this film is more about laughs than action. Watch it as a comedy and you will have a hell of a time.
Cast:
I can’t get enough of Captain Jack Sparrow. Hats off to Johnny Depp for keeping the role refreshingly charismatic. His dialogue delivery is pitch perfect, along with his intimate facial expressions. There are times when you can just laugh looking at him, his walking gait, running style, facial expressions and all. Also, Jack gets new catchphrases – replacing the old ones – “You will forever remember this day when you almostcaught Captain Jack Sparrow” becomes “Savvy”, “Ole”, and “There’s a lot of megoing around these days”. Penelope Cruz is hot (can’t believe she was pregnant during the shooting, the costume department deserve kudos for hiding any signs). Her English has also vastly improved, which is a boon. Her banter with Johnny is the highlight of the film. Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa proves that pirates can pull of wearing wigs and still kick butt (though I would not like to keep rum where he kept it!). Kevin McNally as Gibbs had great chemistry with Jack – the bromance blossoms! Sam Maclafin and Astrid Berges were wasted as romantic pairing as I felt let down by the necessary ‘formulaic’ romantic subplot.
Hans Zimmer’s score was very good. When you already have such an awesome soundtrack, the key is not to mess it up! Especially, watch the scene near the end with Jack and Angelica and how the background music builds the tension and then the twist! It just cracked me up! Brilliant cohesion. Rob Marshall shows off his choreography expertise in the fight scenes but was largely ineffective in his 3D vision. A simplistic plot line to follow was a charm. There were a lot of great scenes – the mutiny scene at Blackbeard’s ship and how Sparrow spurs up the crew (hilarious), the introduction of Jack Sparrow (sans the awesome background score, but still pretty darn innovative), the fight between Jack and Barbossa to get the chalices while balancing on a ship, Jack meeting Jack and the subsequent swordfight, just to name a few. The running time is also shorter – the film is just a bit over 2 hours, but still could be snapped by about 20 minutes or so.
All in all, the Piratesfranchise is back in familiar tides and here to tickle your funny bone. Jack, keep your balance, we want more from you… Savvy?
