Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates: On Stranger Tides.

My opinions on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is shared with a large quantity of people. I liked the first one, didn’t care for the second, and hated the third. The reason for this is mostly because the story in the last two revolved around the most obnoxious characters in the films. They still did well though, in part due to Orlando Bloom’s following at the time, Depp’s portrayal of Sparrow, and the over-the-top action sequences. While I did see the latter two in theaters, (almost exclusively because of the action scenes) I was fed up with it by the millionth hour of the third movie. (Seriously, why was that movie so long?) When I heard that they would be making another movie without the franchise poisoning romance, I was excited. I saw this as an opportunity to return to form. I had always said that the Pirates movies should be akin to the Indiana Jones movies. Each should have been their own tale, with Jack Sparrow filling the main role, and only a few minor characters appearing to help or thwart Sparrow. This movie promised me exactly what I wanted and I walked into the theater ready to be entertained.

Spoiler Warning: Scroll to bottom of post if you want my spoiler free final thoughts (This particular review is mostly spoiler free, but no promises.)

The core plot of Stranger Tides is a textbook quest to find obscure magical location/item X. If this was all it consisted of, I think it would have been a better movie than it ended up being. When you’re trying to reboot a franchise that is view by critics with a negative eye, it’s good to focus on a simple plot and just do it well. Tides looked like it was going to do exactly this, until we boarded Blackbeard’s ship. The movie was plagued with the same virtually meaningless side plots as the second and third movies. Whether or not Angelica is Teach’s daughter, whether Jack and Angelica were going to get together and the odd side-story with the priest and the were-mermaid are examples of plotlines that, while connected to the main plot, are mostly pointless. It would have been better to focus the time spent on these stories elsewhere, preferably the main plot of finding the fountain. Even if the writer wanted a less obvious form of conflict in the story, he should have picked one of these and stuck with it. While the plot was convoluted at times, I found certain clichés that they could have gone with done in a more refreshing way: Instead of wanting eternal life, the Spanish just were zealots; instead of getting the girl at the end, Jack does what he thinks is best for her; the fact that Barbossa and Jack are more than willing to help each other. I honestly expected them to go the way of the cliché in these areas, and to my pleasant surprise, they didn’t.

Overall, the plot was convoluted and unoriginal, but not totally cliché: 5/10

One of the main areas that was improved from the last two Pirates movies is the area of characters. No performance bogs down the movie, and this fact alone makes Tides exceptional in comparison to the other three. However, very few performances are anything special, and I got the feeling that some of these actors weren’t giving their all. Depp and McShane are fantastic, but the list of notable characters end there.

No dreadful performances, but nothing special either: 7/10

The action scenes in the Pirates have always been my favorite parts. While I called foul about fighting in the rigging of a ship while it is being swallowed by a whirlpool, I enjoyed the ridiculous fight scene on the watermill. Tides toned down the ridiculousness a bit, but not so much as to make the movie a bore. The swordplay and action sequences are what give these movies their charm. The plot is less than admirable, the characters are quirky but little else and the setting is an acid that creates its own plot holes. The action (and the music, more about that later), however, is the focus of the films. This movie, like its predecessors, is all about the action, but the choreography seems a little sloppier than before.

Action is still good, but lacks the polish of the earlier films. 7/10

I could write a dissertation on why the Pirates franchise’s unique mythology should be toned down and ret-conned until it is impossible to see much similarity between the original and the end result. I’ve always found it to be simultaneously too shallow and convoluted to be truly engaging. While Tides fairs better than the last two, it still suffers. The music, however, more than makes up for the issues that the other environmental elements miss. Zimmer’s music is amazing, giving the viewer desperately needed queues about the mood of the scenes in question.

While the setting still needs an overhaul, the music is still fantastic: 8/10

Overall, the movie is a lot of fun, but nothing more. As long as you aren’t there for a spectacular story or amazing acting, you’ll have a good time. These movies are in the spirit of the old musketeer movies: Silly and predictable, but still a lot of fun.

Overall Score: 6.75/10

-GyonFalc

Thor: Movie Review- GyonFalc

To describe myself as cautiously optimistic when walking into Thor would be technically accurate, but it would also disregard the nuances of my feelings towards the idea of a Thor movie. I’ve never been a big fan of Thor. Not that I ever disliked him, it’s just that he never appealed me. After Iron Man 1&2 proved that Marvel Studios could make good movies, I was looking forward to whatever they had to offer, until I found out Thor was next. I cringed at the thought. While I could see Iron Man and Captain America translating well to the big screen, Thor seemed to be a rather large risk. We’re talking about a blond Norse god gallivanting across the screen, talking Old English and sporting wings on his helmet. I mean, the guy’s driveway is a rainbow. Yeah, I could see this idea going very wrong. As casting and pictures trickled into the media, I slowly became more and more interested in what they were doing, but not quite enough to assuage all of my fears. I was dubious from announcement until I walked into theaters, but I was convinced to see it. 

At this point I’m going to throw out a spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen the movie yet and want to know my overall impressions, skip to the bottom of the post.

First thing I want to talk about is the plot. It’s simple and straightforward; almost a carbon copy of every Hercules story. Thor is cocky and self sure, he goes to the frost giant’s world and starts a war. His Dad isn’t keen on wars, (considering he lost his eye in the last one, who can blame him?) so he banishes Thor to earth to learn a lesson. Loki, Thor’s brother and the villain of the tale takes Asgard over while Thor’s away. Despite the fact that the plot was a carbon copy   The only issue in regards to plot occurs in the scenes where Thor is sent to earth. While the scenes in Asgard had events where lives and worlds we’re on the line, the scenes in New Mexico were underwhelming in comparison. The only concern on earth is the S.H.I.E.L.D. has Thor’s hammer. On earth is where the majority of the “fish out of water” comedic relief comes to pass, and while some of it is funny, at times it seems like they’re trying too hard. Also: Hawkeye!

All in all, I give the plot a 7/10. Simple, but very well done Also: Hawkeye needs a movie.

You can’t have a discussion about the characters of Thor without first talking about the casting. It seems like every character had the best actor for their character. Even the minor characters like the Warriors Three and Sif seem to be very well cast. Unfortunately, even though their acting is good the only roles that get attention are Thor, Loki and Jane Foster. Luckily, these are also some of the best cast in the movie. I nevertheless found the secondary characters to be a huge source of wasted potential. Thor, played by Kirk’s father from the new Star Trek, is able to convey both the brashness and the heart of the character without making him too unlikable or melodramatic. Portman’s role as Foster is also well performed, but Loki is the character that steals the show. Tom Hiddleston’s performance conveys all of the subtleties of Loki’s trickery and his envy of Thor without going over the top. We’re able to see the reasons behind what he did, making him the most sympathetic comic-movie villain I’ve seen.

Characters/Acting 7/10: Well done on all accounts, but the amount of wasted potential is a little disheartening. 

The movie’s action scenes are probably my biggest gripe about the film. As a superhero movie featuring the god of thunder, you’d think we’d see some pretty spectacular fight scenes. Instead, we see Hemsworth fighting in the mud. The beginning fight of the movie is good, both showing us the abilities of Thor, Loki and the others, while letting us see them plaster the walls with frost giants. The middle fight scene was boring save for the moment that Hawkeye pops up. It’s main purpose is, if you ask me, to advertise for the Avengers movie. I wasn’t a fan. The fights at the end between Thor and the Destroyer and Thor and Loki are mostly anti climactic once Thor gets his hammer back. Once again, the final fights did have a redeeming moment. I almost died of laughter when Thor put Mjolnir on Loki’s chest. 

All in all, the first scene was good, but they ended up jumping the shark with the action scenes: 3/10

Lastly, the environments and soundtrack of the movie. The movie did a good job of contrasting the two worlds visually. Asgard has an almost steampunk feel to it, lending to the subtle theme of magic=science that prevails in the Foster-Thor parts of the movie. The earth scenes take place in a small New Mexican town, one that looks like it was built for the movie. Even though Asgard was CGI, it actually felt more real than the Earth setting.

The music is very orchestral, contrasting Iron Man’s score drastically, as well it should. The advantage to the more traditional soundtrack gives the movie more opportunities to use the music to impact the audience.

Aside from the problems with the Earth setting, I loved the overall feeling of epicness the movie gave. 8/10

My overall impressions: I think the makers of this movie knew it would be easy to mess this movie up. I think they played it very cautiously, giving us a decent movie. If I were them, I probably would have played it the same way. In retrospect, however, They could have taken a few more risks, put a little more effort into the movie, and we would have had a movie on par with the first Iron Man.

Overall score: 8.3/10

-GyonFalc