I am behind in a number of film reviews but the one that is the most behind is Pirates 4. I have been very busy lately and have put this off for sometime (even putting other posts and reviews in front of this one). It’s nothing personnel, I just haven’t gotten around to it. So without further waiting, let’s review Pirates 4.
The Negative
This is the film where the cast and crew become divided. It’s the sequel where some felt that the last film should have ended it, and some wanted to keep going. This happens with many film series and it’s always an awkward transition. We lose some of the main characters and some of the driving creative force that made the films good. This is something the Pirates 4 does a good job at fighting but ultimately stumbles through this.
Have Captain Jack Sparrow as the new main character keeps the film going but brings the character down a peg. Until this film, Jack wasn’t the main star of the series; the narrative had always been about Will and Elizabeth. Putting Jack into the main seat means that some of his more bizarre antics need more explanation. Jack Sparrow operates as a mobile plot device. His actions always further the plot for our main duo in a bizarre and humorous way. This is his appeal. By making him the main character, he can no longer play the moving plot device and must have other characters move the plot for him. Jack Sparrow is mostly just pointed to the next plot piece by all of the supporting characters and sent on his merry way. It’s almost as if Captain Jack was forced onto this adventure by his peers and is less fun because of it.
Speaking of missing cast members, where was everyone else? I understand that Will and Elizabeth weren’t going to be in this one, but what about all the other supporting characters? The only returning characters in this film are Jack, Barbossa, and Gibbs, what happened to the rest of the crew? I was expecting to see Cotton, Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, the Prison Dog, anybody who was a small supporting character but still memorable. None of these characters return, instead we get a heartfelt missionary, a smitten mermaid, an annoying cabin boy, and Scrum. (I’m not joking that’s his name). While these new characters were entertaining at some points, I have to wonder why no one else decided to return. The story of how the Pearl got capture might suggest that they are all dead which would simply be just a letdown and a loss of good characters.
My final problem with the film is that the Zombies just didn’t work for me. The only magical enchantment that was at Blackbeard’s disposal that seemed to be real was his sword controller for the ship. The voodoo dolls, the prophet, and the zombie generals just felt really forced into this film. I feel like this was the producers wanted a new mystical element in this film since we could no longer have skeleton pirates or fish people. I get that having cursed crews is a key recurring plot device in the series but the zombies just didn’t pull it off for me. The effect was rarely used, but when it was used it just looked cheap and fake.
The Positive
Any scene that had Jack and Barbossa together. These two were priceless and every scene they had together was hilarious. With Jack taking up the role of the main character, Barbossa was taking over Jack’s role. He would appeal at random moments and move the plot along in a bizarre and humorous fashion. This actually significantly made Barbossa more likable and all of his interactions with Jack became the highlight of the film.
I ended up really liking Blackbeard as a villain. He was portrayed as an aging pirate who was seeking to immortalize himself as well as redeem himself for his newly found daughter. This is how most of the main characters played out in this film. Age was getting to them; while they were seeking out a way to become immortal they were also trying to find was of redemption. Blackbeard was an old villain on his last leg and he was desperate to save himself. For me that really worked as a villain. I don’t quite understand why we need the Spanish as a side antagonist; they served no real purpose and were barely featured in the film. The film would have been fine with just Blackbeard as the main villain without any interference from the silly Spanish army. (As a side note I also really liked Blackbeard’s enchanted sword even though it was never explained and became useless once they were away from all the ships.)
In Conclusion
This was one of the better films in the series but at the same time, like its characters, it is showing its age and is on its last leg. The Pirates series is enjoyable because of brilliant characters. People want to go see what these characters are doing and what they’ve gotten themselves into this time. This has made movie goers to forgive the incoherent plots because of the likable characters. The problem with this is when you get rid of most of the main cast members, people realize more and more how bad the plot really is. 3 out of 5.
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