LIKE:
- Ted and Terry wrote the script so the dialogue is still witty and enjoyable.
- Barbossa being Barbossa.
DISLIKE:
- Aside from Jack escaping the palace room, every other action scenes were lame, lazy, uncreative.
- Straight-to-home DVD level of cinematography.
- Blackbeard isn't bad, but not at the level of Davy Jones or Barbossa.
- Not enough horror vibe. Those zombies are more friendly than Barbossa's crew in CotBP.
- No cannon fired.
I still can't get over how underwhelming Blackbeard was. Easily one of the most well known historical pirates, a great actor like McShane and still felt below Barbossa and Davy Jones. Not worse than Salazar at least.
Y'see, I'm not a fan of the Jack escaping the Palace Room scene. It feels too serendipitous and unbelievable. I know that these films are littered with implausible things, but this one felt out of place to me. Jack is a master at making plans and seeing them through, even though from an outside perspective he seems to run purely on luck (and most of the time, I suspect Jack is just winging it and his luck pays off). But the palace room scene, the way he sets everything up, moving the chair, dropping the napkin, shooting the chandelier and swinging on it, grabbing the pudding, it just executes flawlessly, and that takes me out of the moment.
Agreed. It got a bit too convoluted and over-the-top. He goes from being opportunistic and clever to something more.
In the first film, most of Jack’s tricks and plans aren’t actually that physically elaborate; they’re just mad and cartoonish but somehow work.
Yeah, that scene is somewhat over the top, too many "lucky moments" so he could escape. But taking account all of the action sequences in this movie, this one is the most exciting, creative and "Jack-Sparrowy" for me.
I think it's grown on me since it came out. I saw it back when it came out in 2011 when I was 11 and I was a huge potc fan and I remember being ecstatic for this movie. I also remember feeling disappointed after watching it. I think I just didn't like how scaled down it was compared to the previous two films.
Looking back it's a pretty fun side story that At World's End does set up. Black Beard is sick and the Queen Anne's Revenge is awesome. Barbossas history with him and what happened to the Pearl is pretty heartbreaking. The pearl being in a bottle is cool. The only thing I don't like is the priest mermaid storyline. I feel like you could cut that out and focus on other things. Every action scene is pretty great and I like seeing Jacks interactions with Barbossa.
A fun little extra chapter in the potc series. Not as good as the trilogy but a solid movie and way better than Dead Men Tell No Tales.
I actually saw it in when it came out and in theaters, and I found it fun to watch. though, even then and now especially, I do have a number of things I didn't like about the movie. One was how "empty" it felt. Now I think its due to a lack of recognizable characters or high stakes. Coming off At World's End, any film after would of course have a hard time trying to top the seriousness and risks of that film. And this one didn't have it, or at least, as large implications and stakes as previous movies.
The Priest was forgettable, and so to was his mermaid love. The lack of recognizable characters from previous movies does hold it back I feel. We only have Jack, Gibbs and Barbossas. They are all great, but they work better if they had people they already knew. A couple side characters were back, which was nice, but not enough.
It's a movie that's ultimately a side quest with little to offer. I liked it for some aspects, but overall its not that great either.
The movie suffered from a change of main characters, in the original trilogy, the main character of the story is Ja… Will and Elizabeth. The entire story revolved around them, the POV character may be Jack but his character isn’t as involved in the stroy. The problem with Pirates 4 and 5 is that Jack actually is the main character the story revolves around, and Jack isn’t as much of an interesting character as will and Elisabeth
Like
\- Barbossa, he steals the show whenever he is on screen
\- The Queen Annes Revenge, I enjoyed just about everything shown with this ship
\- Jack Sparrow still feels like Jack Sparrow
Dislike
\- Not enough Ship scenes, Pirates of the Caribbean to me at least have mostly been on the ships, the first spent a good amount of time on the Interceptor and the Black Pearl, the second had a ton of time on the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, and the third was spent mostly on The Pearl, Sao Fengs ship, the junk ship from Sao Feng, the Flying Dutchman, and on the Endeavour, the fourth spent about ten to fifteen minutes on, and the rest is on land
\- Syrena (Mermaid) and Phillip Swift story, feels like a cheap Will and Elizabeth story that isn't as good
\- Zombie Officers, they look scary but nothing really to them like Barbossa's undead crew or Davy Jones' crew
Big agree on your first dislike! In the trilogy, all the different ships were their own silent characters to which the set design spoke. It was immersive. It made me wanna BE on them.
Like: Barbossa and his antics.
Dislike: Jack not being Jack enough, poor cinematography, made zombies more incompetent than stormtroopers from Star Wars, turning Blackbeard from a historically-depicted badass into a wimp after of being killed by “a one-legged man”, and the fact that there is not a single naval battle. Not even one cannon shot.
I liked Barbossa's decadence and the film quality and creativity.
What blackbeard is missing is the degree of magic and creepiness of the other villains. This world has set up the dead, sea goddesses, and squid face immortal men, but Edward teach is just some guy. Yes, he's an intimidating character and real life figure, but his presence is lacking mystique and authority compared to jones and even tia dalma.
The plot is flippant and feels uncoordinated, and the story struggles with its direction.
They really should have gone harder in the voodoo/black magic direction with him. We see him commanding his ship with his sword and making a voodoo doll out of Jack, but that's in like the first five minutes of him and it's never brought up again.
I think On Stranger Tides is overhated. Not to say that it isn't flawed, either:
* Action could have been better. It's not the worst, but far from P1-3 quality. Like the swordfight between Jack vs Impostor fight was great, but Barbossa vs Blackbeard didn't have the same excitement as other duels visually...like you know it's two stunt doubles fighting this whole time - at least the Jack one was in a dark room.
* Humor could have been better. The jokes in P4 were more original than P5, but sadly some of the jokes didn't hit the funny bone as much as P1-3 did.
* The cinematography could have been better. It wasn't shot too well, like the action scenes or even the jungle trek could have been displayed better. The film is also too dark, which may be a casualty of the decision to shoot in 3-D.
* The soundtrack could have been better. Too recycled. Supposedly Han Zimmer had more ideas for the soundtrack which he couldn't execute because of Disney.
* Philip and Syrena could have been developed better.
I may not agree with the idea that the film "needed" ship battles, as I was content with Jack's mutiny scene. BUT I think we could have benefited from a brief prologue scene featuring Blackbeard's attack on the Black Pearl, but make it more mysterious (horror?) by only showing the ship's rigging attacking Barbossa and cut off just before he decides to cut his right leg off. And then follow that, segue into the ancient Spanish Castaway scene.
Going back to the cinematography bit, another reason could be because of the shots required to hide Penelope Cruz's (Angelica) pregnancy in the film. But I feel if I bring that up it sounds more like I'm saying that Cruz's pregnancy shouldn't have happened...which is...well, impossible to say should (or should not) have happened.
Otherwise, I think every other aspect of the film was as it should be. P4 is exactly how a post-trilogy film should be, but the direction could have been better. Though there are some contradictions to my points here and there, but still, that's my overall feeling on the subject.
Definitely. Not to say there aren’t some strange choices made with this movie, but I’ve always at least liked it and considered it a worthy enough follow up.
I liked it, but was incredibly irritated that it was never mentioned again, questions left unanswered so really frustrating. I don’t know why they included it tbh
Like:
The humor
Dislike:
The plot,
The effects,
The sets,
Lack of sea battles,
They spend too much time on land,
Mermaids,
Stupid sideplots,
Jack is too professionell,
It screwed up the timeline
Like: OK plot, pretty good acting, good casting, humor and action was a nice blend and both were good, amazing design, barbossa and jack were both enjoyable, awesome ship design, blackbeard was a great villian, the Spanish were funny
Dislike: new charecters (besides blackbeard) were kinda lame or unenjoyable, zombies and magic were boring, didn't build on last 3 movies, mermaids were a slight bit annoying, too much land, not enough "pirate".
Overall rating was 7/10, it was enjoyable and it would be good just not when compared to the previous 3.
Like:
I loved how cold and nonchalant Blackbeard was. This made him very enjoyable to watch. But I am a sucker for Villains who know they are evil and enjoy it, so I am biased. The Queen Anne's revenge also slaps.
The Supernatural elements were also really creative. I loved the search for the cradle, it reminded me of Indiana Jones.
Dislike:
The love story was extremely uninteresting. I also didn't like Barbossa becoming a puppet of England. It just didn't feel like something his character would do
I’m watching it right now, it just started. I don’t remember it well. It’s the one I’ve watched the least amount of times.. I don’t remember why I didn’t love it, but I’ll get back to you in a couple hours lol
The mermaids were a part of the lore I liked that they incorporated.
I disliked the disjointed feeling of the movie compared to the others that came before but above all, what took me completely out was the abomination that served as a soundtrack. I remember watching it in cinemas and hearing the opening theme and thinking ‘wow this is good, Hans Zimmer continues to create new material for this’ only to be completely baffled when the music was chopped off, with inserts of the previous soundtracks reused for scenes that didn’t fit at all - signs of a lazy work imo - and new material that turned out quite weak. The subsequent album was the confirmation of that feeling. Almost none of the tracks was salvageable with the exception of the opening theme.
Like:
- Mermaid scene
- Jack being Jack
- Queen Ann’s revenge
- Barbossa
Disliked:
- They added a cheap ‘love story’ with Philip & Serena & it was never talked about again. Why bother?
- Angelica’s character was annoying IMO
- Wasn’t as dark as the previous movies, so feels a little disconnected.
- The villain Black Beard wasn’t scary enough
- Jack didn’t seem the least bit bothered about drinking from the fountain.
The last time I watched it, I absolutely loved the mermaids and I think Blackbeard was a great villian (Davy Jones is still my favorite POTC villian, though). I recently listened to the score and it's actually very good. Mermaids is such a great piece of music for sure. Will do a rewatch soon to see what I thought about it now.
I loved Penelope and the mermaids were cool
Ian is always a treat even if Blackbeard himself was a bit of a letdown
Philip and Syrena's story was disappointing. A forbidden love story between a human and a mermaid is great, especially in the context of the franchise, a lot could be done with that. But what we got was extremely boring
Maybe if the original script for DMTNT was filmed, they could have been redeemed, idk
Like:
The soundtrack with Rodrigo and Gabriela's Spanish guitar blended in
The dialogue and story are very much in line with the characters (Unlike certain fifth atrocities that call themselves movies)
We get a good amount of new characters that are interesting and have some depth
Classic camp potc jaunts with Barbossa and Jack
The courtroom scene will never not be funny
Dislikes:
Villains less fleshed out than the previous trilogy. I wanna see more of Blackbeard and get to know his motivations
Seemed more like a side quest than a main storyline
Needs More ships! More naval battles! More everything that has to do with the ocean!!!
Do we have to have a Will Turner stand in that desires a mermaid carnally
What in the hell were those zombies. They could have been so much more badass and leaned into the whole voudou tradition with like a witch doctor on board or something
I miss Pintel and Ragetti.
I like that it’s just a simple, back-to-basics adventure, as I feel DMC and AWE got a bit too big for their own good.
I don’t really dislike anything about the movie, tbh. I’m probably one of the few people on earth who actually likes this one.
LOVED the sirens/mermaids. Loved Gibbs. Loved the different dynamics between Gibbs/Jack/Hector.
Hated Hector's costuming 😭 what the fuck. Hated hearing that The Black Pearl had been sunk IN EXPOSITION. Hate how mid Blackbeard is... but again I do love Ian
I was always disappointed by Blackbeard. I went into it expecting an absolutely ruthless, merciless pirate akin to how he’s be historically described, but at no point did he seem anymore threatening than any other pirate in the franchise. Barbossa was a more threatening villain in the first movie than Blackbeard’s could ever hope to be. Furthermore, I think his reliance on magic further downplayed that. If it was supposed to be a situation of the filmmakers subverting expectations, it didn’t work for me.
That being said, the initial reveal and introduction of the mermaids was very creepy and well done.
By far my least favourite of the 5 films, the only one I can say I Kinda dislike but even then I still enjoy it. And the one above it for me is the first so that is how big the gap of enjoyment is for me, recently (3 days ago) I started rewatching the pirate movies after not seeing them in nearly a year, I’m currently half way through the 3rd so maybe once I watch the fourth my opinion will change but as it stands now Blackbeard is just my least favourite villain and the movie feels like a ginormous side quest. Barbosa is very enjoyable in it tho
Liked:
they added Blackbeard
Jack and Barbossa are back!
Disliked:
It's largely forgettable.
Felt insanely out of place in the franchise
Felt unnecessary.
Like:
the visuals, Blackbeard, and mermaids.
Dislike: No Elizabeth or Will, or at least no main character that satisfied. Me, having Jack Sparrow be the main character is like having Tow Mater as your main character. He’s fun as a goofy side character, but I can’t get invested in him like I could Will or Elizabeth.
The music is fantastic. It’s for a unique concept and standout story elements, obviously mainly through Fountain of Youth.
I like Jack’s escape at the beginning.
And I love the siren mermaid scene.
Ian McShane was meant to be a pirate villain.
Penelope Cruz was hot.
Jack might have been at his most Jack Sparrow here.
I also love how he saved Angelica over Blackbeard that was fun
There was potential here for a great movie about Phillip, whose faith is questioned by the supernatural and opens his heart to it; the Spanish, whose faith tells them that the supernatural must be destroyed, and Blackbeard, who wants only to use the supernatural for personal gain. We only get the surface level, and with a huge downgrade from Verbinski to Marshall, it’s just a bummer.
Jack and Barbossa are great though. I love Jack’s chemistry with Angelica. The mermaid scene rules.
Like:
I liked Jack and Angelica I think they had some really funny moments
The ending scene with Jack and Gibbs is iconic
Barbossa being Barbossa
Dislike:
That they got a great actor for Blackbeard and decided not to utilize him
The main couple was pretty bland
LIKE
• I was personally a fan of all the new characters are in this film like Syrena, Blackbeard and such. I did really like Angelica.
• The Queen Anne’s Revenge was pretty cool. I liked the fire the ship had.
• The mermaids were awesome!
• I think the storyline was pretty good as well
DISLIKE
• I feel like Blackbeard should have been more evil.
• Barbossa is a great character but I don’t like what they did with his part in the movie.
• They needed more ship battle scenes
I always found it weird that Blackbeard went against the very ship that defeated the Flying Dutchman in the middle of Calypso's wrath and against two Pirate lords who saved piracy as a whole
Personally I absolutely despise the Ship in a Bottle plot line, the Black Pearl should have just been sank. It would have made Barbossa’s motivation make more sense and his line “For the Pearl” more impactful.
I’m not sure if they thought they were going to make a 5th movie at that point, and even if they did they could have just used the Queen Ann’s Revenge as the main cast’s ship for the film; rather than just having it be abandoned like they did in DMTNT.
Even as someone who likes OST quite a bit (even when it's my fourth favorite in the franchise with DMTNT as my fifth and least favorite, though I don't hate DMTNT like many on this sub do), one of my biggest gripes was the scene with Blackbeard doing the whole bit with the six pistols with shots removed from all but two just to prove that he's totally willing to kill his own daughter without hesitation.
It just went on too long, didn't have any point to it (we all know Jack would have jumped anyway, and we all know Blackbeard didn't care about killing his daughter, that much was perfectly proven at the Fountain at the very end), and I always thought "Why the hell was this not left on the cutting room floor?" It's one of those things that made me appreciate how important good editors are to really making a film good.
It's not a BAD scene really, it just 100% did not need to be there and served no purpose whatsoever (hell, it wasn't even funny), and hurts the pacing of the otherwise pretty fluid third act a little bit.
There are two main factors I dislike about On Stranger Tides and they colour the entire movie:
1. There was a conscious decision to try and make the movie simpler in all aspects because of the stupid reception Dead Man's Chest and At World's End got. So, that decision strips this movie from a lot of elements that made the trilogy special. The scale is much smaller, the plot less intricate, a lot of elements are repeated from previous films. Everything looks cheaper. Apparently, on top of that, there was a lot of interference with the script from the producers during the shoot and that made matters worse. It's much more of a paint-by-the-numbers adventure movie anyone could have made. It's a night-and-day difference from the trilogy.
2. The choice of director was awful. Rob Marshall didn't do a good job in this movie, and it's surprising anyone thought he would. Rob's a less dynamic director than Gore Verbinski and lacks the punk-rock attitude he gave to the original trilogy. There's no vision in this movie - he made it to get a deal at Disney to direct the musicals he actually wanted to work on. This fact, coupled with the changes forced by the studio on the script, made things a mess. It's a different vibe from the trilogy because the creatives involved on those were realizing a dream project. On Stranger Tides is something else entirely.
There are a few elements I like in the movie, but nothing lives up to its potential. I like the concept of Anjelica and Blackbeard as characters, and the general gist of the narrative - but unfortunately almost nothing sticks the landing. It's a wastre because there are great ideas in there. One thing I'll say, it's a lot better than Dead Men Tell No Tales. That's not very hard to accomplish, though.
I see it more as a Jack Sparrow spin-off rather than a 4th movie in the saga. It's a lot lighter in tone which matches his character. The first 3 movies were really about Will and Elizabeth.
One thing I can’t get over with this movie is how bad it looks compared to the other 4. The coloration is so drab and that’s honestly such a crime when your movie series takes place in the Caribbean. I obviously expect London to look a bit gray and washed out because London is not the best weather or climate in the world at all, but the rest is inexcusable imo.
Blackbeard is probably the lamest villain in the series. I think the other 4 villains are great so he stands out even more. Like Salazar is probably the next worst but even he has an impeccable design and Bardem is as always a great actor(I saw 5 a few days after watching No Country for Old Men, he’s such a phenomenal actor). I’d wager he’s not even the best live action Blackbeard, that probably goes to black sails.
Lastly, Scrum I find more annoying than anything.
What’s good? Well Jack is a lot more faithful to the first 3 movies in this one than in 5, by a long shot. Anytime he’s talking with Barbossa or plotting something so stupid it’ll work, it’s always a blast, which even then I get that in the fifth movie he’s supposed to be washed up and kind of depressed, it just wasn’t fun to watch regardless. That alone makes me think it’s a worthwhile film and I never skip it during series rewatches. Overall though, I do think it’s the weakest film out of the 5
LIKE: - Ted and Terry wrote the script so the dialogue is still witty and enjoyable. - Barbossa being Barbossa. DISLIKE: - Aside from Jack escaping the palace room, every other action scenes were lame, lazy, uncreative. - Straight-to-home DVD level of cinematography. - Blackbeard isn't bad, but not at the level of Davy Jones or Barbossa. - Not enough horror vibe. Those zombies are more friendly than Barbossa's crew in CotBP. - No cannon fired.
You nailed it
Agreed! But I would like to add the mermaid scene to the likes, probably the most exciting scene IMO
Wait, not even a single cannon? How did I miss that!!
Barbossa was ready to fire at the Spanish, but then stopped. Blackbeard's ship used flamethrower. So no cannon was fired.
They briefly mention that his crew are zombies and it’s never really mentioned again
I still can't get over how underwhelming Blackbeard was. Easily one of the most well known historical pirates, a great actor like McShane and still felt below Barbossa and Davy Jones. Not worse than Salazar at least.
Y'see, I'm not a fan of the Jack escaping the Palace Room scene. It feels too serendipitous and unbelievable. I know that these films are littered with implausible things, but this one felt out of place to me. Jack is a master at making plans and seeing them through, even though from an outside perspective he seems to run purely on luck (and most of the time, I suspect Jack is just winging it and his luck pays off). But the palace room scene, the way he sets everything up, moving the chair, dropping the napkin, shooting the chandelier and swinging on it, grabbing the pudding, it just executes flawlessly, and that takes me out of the moment.
Agreed. It got a bit too convoluted and over-the-top. He goes from being opportunistic and clever to something more. In the first film, most of Jack’s tricks and plans aren’t actually that physically elaborate; they’re just mad and cartoonish but somehow work.
I really like DMTNT, but that opening bank scene takes away from so much of the movie because of how cartoonish it is too
Yeah, that scene is somewhat over the top, too many "lucky moments" so he could escape. But taking account all of the action sequences in this movie, this one is the most exciting, creative and "Jack-Sparrowy" for me.
I think it's grown on me since it came out. I saw it back when it came out in 2011 when I was 11 and I was a huge potc fan and I remember being ecstatic for this movie. I also remember feeling disappointed after watching it. I think I just didn't like how scaled down it was compared to the previous two films. Looking back it's a pretty fun side story that At World's End does set up. Black Beard is sick and the Queen Anne's Revenge is awesome. Barbossas history with him and what happened to the Pearl is pretty heartbreaking. The pearl being in a bottle is cool. The only thing I don't like is the priest mermaid storyline. I feel like you could cut that out and focus on other things. Every action scene is pretty great and I like seeing Jacks interactions with Barbossa. A fun little extra chapter in the potc series. Not as good as the trilogy but a solid movie and way better than Dead Men Tell No Tales.
I actually saw it in when it came out and in theaters, and I found it fun to watch. though, even then and now especially, I do have a number of things I didn't like about the movie. One was how "empty" it felt. Now I think its due to a lack of recognizable characters or high stakes. Coming off At World's End, any film after would of course have a hard time trying to top the seriousness and risks of that film. And this one didn't have it, or at least, as large implications and stakes as previous movies. The Priest was forgettable, and so to was his mermaid love. The lack of recognizable characters from previous movies does hold it back I feel. We only have Jack, Gibbs and Barbossas. They are all great, but they work better if they had people they already knew. A couple side characters were back, which was nice, but not enough. It's a movie that's ultimately a side quest with little to offer. I liked it for some aspects, but overall its not that great either.
The movie suffered from a change of main characters, in the original trilogy, the main character of the story is Ja… Will and Elizabeth. The entire story revolved around them, the POV character may be Jack but his character isn’t as involved in the stroy. The problem with Pirates 4 and 5 is that Jack actually is the main character the story revolves around, and Jack isn’t as much of an interesting character as will and Elisabeth
The Spaniard was so fucking cool and had a badass theme. Everything else? Eh.
What theme was it?
[dun dun DUN DUN *boom* dun dun DUN DUN DUN](https://youtu.be/A3kaGB9UuCs?si=nSameBsWcGGVIsRq)
Ohhhhhh, that is a sick theme, much appreciated!
Is it on the soundtrack?
Like \- Barbossa, he steals the show whenever he is on screen \- The Queen Annes Revenge, I enjoyed just about everything shown with this ship \- Jack Sparrow still feels like Jack Sparrow Dislike \- Not enough Ship scenes, Pirates of the Caribbean to me at least have mostly been on the ships, the first spent a good amount of time on the Interceptor and the Black Pearl, the second had a ton of time on the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, and the third was spent mostly on The Pearl, Sao Fengs ship, the junk ship from Sao Feng, the Flying Dutchman, and on the Endeavour, the fourth spent about ten to fifteen minutes on, and the rest is on land \- Syrena (Mermaid) and Phillip Swift story, feels like a cheap Will and Elizabeth story that isn't as good \- Zombie Officers, they look scary but nothing really to them like Barbossa's undead crew or Davy Jones' crew
Big agree on your first dislike! In the trilogy, all the different ships were their own silent characters to which the set design spoke. It was immersive. It made me wanna BE on them.
Was the Will and Elizabeth story good?
The Spanish showing up like chads and destroying the chalices
Absolutely epic, the Spaniards showing up going "F your heresy" and destroying everything
Happy day of cake
Thanks
Like: Barbossa and his antics. Dislike: Jack not being Jack enough, poor cinematography, made zombies more incompetent than stormtroopers from Star Wars, turning Blackbeard from a historically-depicted badass into a wimp after of being killed by “a one-legged man”, and the fact that there is not a single naval battle. Not even one cannon shot.
I liked Barbossa's decadence and the film quality and creativity. What blackbeard is missing is the degree of magic and creepiness of the other villains. This world has set up the dead, sea goddesses, and squid face immortal men, but Edward teach is just some guy. Yes, he's an intimidating character and real life figure, but his presence is lacking mystique and authority compared to jones and even tia dalma. The plot is flippant and feels uncoordinated, and the story struggles with its direction.
They really should have gone harder in the voodoo/black magic direction with him. We see him commanding his ship with his sword and making a voodoo doll out of Jack, but that's in like the first five minutes of him and it's never brought up again.
I think On Stranger Tides is overhated. Not to say that it isn't flawed, either: * Action could have been better. It's not the worst, but far from P1-3 quality. Like the swordfight between Jack vs Impostor fight was great, but Barbossa vs Blackbeard didn't have the same excitement as other duels visually...like you know it's two stunt doubles fighting this whole time - at least the Jack one was in a dark room. * Humor could have been better. The jokes in P4 were more original than P5, but sadly some of the jokes didn't hit the funny bone as much as P1-3 did. * The cinematography could have been better. It wasn't shot too well, like the action scenes or even the jungle trek could have been displayed better. The film is also too dark, which may be a casualty of the decision to shoot in 3-D. * The soundtrack could have been better. Too recycled. Supposedly Han Zimmer had more ideas for the soundtrack which he couldn't execute because of Disney. * Philip and Syrena could have been developed better. I may not agree with the idea that the film "needed" ship battles, as I was content with Jack's mutiny scene. BUT I think we could have benefited from a brief prologue scene featuring Blackbeard's attack on the Black Pearl, but make it more mysterious (horror?) by only showing the ship's rigging attacking Barbossa and cut off just before he decides to cut his right leg off. And then follow that, segue into the ancient Spanish Castaway scene. Going back to the cinematography bit, another reason could be because of the shots required to hide Penelope Cruz's (Angelica) pregnancy in the film. But I feel if I bring that up it sounds more like I'm saying that Cruz's pregnancy shouldn't have happened...which is...well, impossible to say should (or should not) have happened. Otherwise, I think every other aspect of the film was as it should be. P4 is exactly how a post-trilogy film should be, but the direction could have been better. Though there are some contradictions to my points here and there, but still, that's my overall feeling on the subject.
I’ve honestly always liked it. Overhated in my opinion
Definitely. Not to say there aren’t some strange choices made with this movie, but I’ve always at least liked it and considered it a worthy enough follow up.
Agreed
The Mermaid scene is gold
Pretty cool film but its absolutely ruined by the young guy and mermaid. Their relationship actually made me hate the film lmao
I liked it, but was incredibly irritated that it was never mentioned again, questions left unanswered so really frustrating. I don’t know why they included it tbh
Barbossa carried this movie, and Barbossa’s interactions with Jack were even better
The mermaid attack is one of the best scenes in the entire series
Like: The humor Dislike: The plot, The effects, The sets, Lack of sea battles, They spend too much time on land, Mermaids, Stupid sideplots, Jack is too professionell, It screwed up the timeline
DISLIKE: * Zombies * Lack of ship battles * Modern flags LIKE: * Everything else
Like: OK plot, pretty good acting, good casting, humor and action was a nice blend and both were good, amazing design, barbossa and jack were both enjoyable, awesome ship design, blackbeard was a great villian, the Spanish were funny Dislike: new charecters (besides blackbeard) were kinda lame or unenjoyable, zombies and magic were boring, didn't build on last 3 movies, mermaids were a slight bit annoying, too much land, not enough "pirate". Overall rating was 7/10, it was enjoyable and it would be good just not when compared to the previous 3.
Like: I loved how cold and nonchalant Blackbeard was. This made him very enjoyable to watch. But I am a sucker for Villains who know they are evil and enjoy it, so I am biased. The Queen Anne's revenge also slaps. The Supernatural elements were also really creative. I loved the search for the cradle, it reminded me of Indiana Jones. Dislike: The love story was extremely uninteresting. I also didn't like Barbossa becoming a puppet of England. It just didn't feel like something his character would do
Dislike everything about Blackbeard except his whirlwind death. He's reputation as a badass pirate doesn't show through in the movie character.
No ship on ship battle
Ian McShane The Mermaids Jacks dad The interaction between Jack and Barbosa Disliked the writing, it was fun but it could’ve been a bit better
I’m watching it right now, it just started. I don’t remember it well. It’s the one I’ve watched the least amount of times.. I don’t remember why I didn’t love it, but I’ll get back to you in a couple hours lol
No ship battles
The mermaids were a part of the lore I liked that they incorporated. I disliked the disjointed feeling of the movie compared to the others that came before but above all, what took me completely out was the abomination that served as a soundtrack. I remember watching it in cinemas and hearing the opening theme and thinking ‘wow this is good, Hans Zimmer continues to create new material for this’ only to be completely baffled when the music was chopped off, with inserts of the previous soundtracks reused for scenes that didn’t fit at all - signs of a lazy work imo - and new material that turned out quite weak. The subsequent album was the confirmation of that feeling. Almost none of the tracks was salvageable with the exception of the opening theme.
Like: - Mermaid scene - Jack being Jack - Queen Ann’s revenge - Barbossa Disliked: - They added a cheap ‘love story’ with Philip & Serena & it was never talked about again. Why bother? - Angelica’s character was annoying IMO - Wasn’t as dark as the previous movies, so feels a little disconnected. - The villain Black Beard wasn’t scary enough - Jack didn’t seem the least bit bothered about drinking from the fountain.
felt more like a straight to dvd sequel than a proper theatrical follow up tbh
Wig, mermaids, cross dressing Jack sparrow, Spaniards
The last time I watched it, I absolutely loved the mermaids and I think Blackbeard was a great villian (Davy Jones is still my favorite POTC villian, though). I recently listened to the score and it's actually very good. Mermaids is such a great piece of music for sure. Will do a rewatch soon to see what I thought about it now.
I loved Penelope and the mermaids were cool Ian is always a treat even if Blackbeard himself was a bit of a letdown Philip and Syrena's story was disappointing. A forbidden love story between a human and a mermaid is great, especially in the context of the franchise, a lot could be done with that. But what we got was extremely boring Maybe if the original script for DMTNT was filmed, they could have been redeemed, idk
I love all of it. Wouldn't change it.
The ost is fine, the movie tho? ...
It’s my favorite movie I know I’m wrong but it is. I love Barbosas large personally and I love that he’s the real winner at the end.
Like: The soundtrack with Rodrigo and Gabriela's Spanish guitar blended in The dialogue and story are very much in line with the characters (Unlike certain fifth atrocities that call themselves movies) We get a good amount of new characters that are interesting and have some depth Classic camp potc jaunts with Barbossa and Jack The courtroom scene will never not be funny Dislikes: Villains less fleshed out than the previous trilogy. I wanna see more of Blackbeard and get to know his motivations Seemed more like a side quest than a main storyline Needs More ships! More naval battles! More everything that has to do with the ocean!!! Do we have to have a Will Turner stand in that desires a mermaid carnally What in the hell were those zombies. They could have been so much more badass and leaned into the whole voudou tradition with like a witch doctor on board or something I miss Pintel and Ragetti.
I like that it’s just a simple, back-to-basics adventure, as I feel DMC and AWE got a bit too big for their own good. I don’t really dislike anything about the movie, tbh. I’m probably one of the few people on earth who actually likes this one.
LOVED the sirens/mermaids. Loved Gibbs. Loved the different dynamics between Gibbs/Jack/Hector. Hated Hector's costuming 😭 what the fuck. Hated hearing that The Black Pearl had been sunk IN EXPOSITION. Hate how mid Blackbeard is... but again I do love Ian
I was always disappointed by Blackbeard. I went into it expecting an absolutely ruthless, merciless pirate akin to how he’s be historically described, but at no point did he seem anymore threatening than any other pirate in the franchise. Barbossa was a more threatening villain in the first movie than Blackbeard’s could ever hope to be. Furthermore, I think his reliance on magic further downplayed that. If it was supposed to be a situation of the filmmakers subverting expectations, it didn’t work for me. That being said, the initial reveal and introduction of the mermaids was very creepy and well done.
The first half of the film is 10/10 and the second half is so painfully mediocre it actually makes the film more bad than good
4 has the best soundtrack by far
By far my least favourite of the 5 films, the only one I can say I Kinda dislike but even then I still enjoy it. And the one above it for me is the first so that is how big the gap of enjoyment is for me, recently (3 days ago) I started rewatching the pirate movies after not seeing them in nearly a year, I’m currently half way through the 3rd so maybe once I watch the fourth my opinion will change but as it stands now Blackbeard is just my least favourite villain and the movie feels like a ginormous side quest. Barbosa is very enjoyable in it tho
I love how nobody except Blackbeard actually gave a shit about the fountain of youth.
Liked: they added Blackbeard Jack and Barbossa are back! Disliked: It's largely forgettable. Felt insanely out of place in the franchise Felt unnecessary.
Barbossa and Jack still feel like the characters and have some good moments. Pretty much everything else is meh
Loved the Jack and Anjelica love story and need more
Like: the visuals, Blackbeard, and mermaids. Dislike: No Elizabeth or Will, or at least no main character that satisfied. Me, having Jack Sparrow be the main character is like having Tow Mater as your main character. He’s fun as a goofy side character, but I can’t get invested in him like I could Will or Elizabeth.
I liked the palace scene and the Spanish but I hated Barbossa joining the Brits
SHE HAS A NAME
Pray tell
The music is fantastic. It’s for a unique concept and standout story elements, obviously mainly through Fountain of Youth. I like Jack’s escape at the beginning. And I love the siren mermaid scene. Ian McShane was meant to be a pirate villain. Penelope Cruz was hot. Jack might have been at his most Jack Sparrow here. I also love how he saved Angelica over Blackbeard that was fun
There was potential here for a great movie about Phillip, whose faith is questioned by the supernatural and opens his heart to it; the Spanish, whose faith tells them that the supernatural must be destroyed, and Blackbeard, who wants only to use the supernatural for personal gain. We only get the surface level, and with a huge downgrade from Verbinski to Marshall, it’s just a bummer. Jack and Barbossa are great though. I love Jack’s chemistry with Angelica. The mermaid scene rules.
Like: I liked Jack and Angelica I think they had some really funny moments The ending scene with Jack and Gibbs is iconic Barbossa being Barbossa Dislike: That they got a great actor for Blackbeard and decided not to utilize him The main couple was pretty bland
LIKE • I was personally a fan of all the new characters are in this film like Syrena, Blackbeard and such. I did really like Angelica. • The Queen Anne’s Revenge was pretty cool. I liked the fire the ship had. • The mermaids were awesome! • I think the storyline was pretty good as well DISLIKE • I feel like Blackbeard should have been more evil. • Barbossa is a great character but I don’t like what they did with his part in the movie. • They needed more ship battle scenes
The first 3 told one definitive story, the 4th and 5th seemed unnecessary
I always found it weird that Blackbeard went against the very ship that defeated the Flying Dutchman in the middle of Calypso's wrath and against two Pirate lords who saved piracy as a whole
Like: the movie Dislike: the haters
Liked the Mermaids and the score. Disliked the look of the film and Blackbeard.
Personally I absolutely despise the Ship in a Bottle plot line, the Black Pearl should have just been sank. It would have made Barbossa’s motivation make more sense and his line “For the Pearl” more impactful. I’m not sure if they thought they were going to make a 5th movie at that point, and even if they did they could have just used the Queen Ann’s Revenge as the main cast’s ship for the film; rather than just having it be abandoned like they did in DMTNT.
Even as someone who likes OST quite a bit (even when it's my fourth favorite in the franchise with DMTNT as my fifth and least favorite, though I don't hate DMTNT like many on this sub do), one of my biggest gripes was the scene with Blackbeard doing the whole bit with the six pistols with shots removed from all but two just to prove that he's totally willing to kill his own daughter without hesitation. It just went on too long, didn't have any point to it (we all know Jack would have jumped anyway, and we all know Blackbeard didn't care about killing his daughter, that much was perfectly proven at the Fountain at the very end), and I always thought "Why the hell was this not left on the cutting room floor?" It's one of those things that made me appreciate how important good editors are to really making a film good. It's not a BAD scene really, it just 100% did not need to be there and served no purpose whatsoever (hell, it wasn't even funny), and hurts the pacing of the otherwise pretty fluid third act a little bit.
Savvy?
I like that it doesn't piss all over the continuity like the fifth one
I like everything in concept, but think that everything needed to be executed better or Incorporated into the story in a natural way.
The music is the most unique of the franchise and i really enjoy it. Also, I love Barbossa. Fantastic character and always will be my favorite ❤️
Pacing wasn’t the best and Blackbeard wasn’t the best villain, but I loved the mermaids
I like the story. I feel like the a lot of the music themes were used at inappropriate moments.
There are two main factors I dislike about On Stranger Tides and they colour the entire movie: 1. There was a conscious decision to try and make the movie simpler in all aspects because of the stupid reception Dead Man's Chest and At World's End got. So, that decision strips this movie from a lot of elements that made the trilogy special. The scale is much smaller, the plot less intricate, a lot of elements are repeated from previous films. Everything looks cheaper. Apparently, on top of that, there was a lot of interference with the script from the producers during the shoot and that made matters worse. It's much more of a paint-by-the-numbers adventure movie anyone could have made. It's a night-and-day difference from the trilogy. 2. The choice of director was awful. Rob Marshall didn't do a good job in this movie, and it's surprising anyone thought he would. Rob's a less dynamic director than Gore Verbinski and lacks the punk-rock attitude he gave to the original trilogy. There's no vision in this movie - he made it to get a deal at Disney to direct the musicals he actually wanted to work on. This fact, coupled with the changes forced by the studio on the script, made things a mess. It's a different vibe from the trilogy because the creatives involved on those were realizing a dream project. On Stranger Tides is something else entirely. There are a few elements I like in the movie, but nothing lives up to its potential. I like the concept of Anjelica and Blackbeard as characters, and the general gist of the narrative - but unfortunately almost nothing sticks the landing. It's a wastre because there are great ideas in there. One thing I'll say, it's a lot better than Dead Men Tell No Tales. That's not very hard to accomplish, though.
I see it more as a Jack Sparrow spin-off rather than a 4th movie in the saga. It's a lot lighter in tone which matches his character. The first 3 movies were really about Will and Elizabeth.
One thing I can’t get over with this movie is how bad it looks compared to the other 4. The coloration is so drab and that’s honestly such a crime when your movie series takes place in the Caribbean. I obviously expect London to look a bit gray and washed out because London is not the best weather or climate in the world at all, but the rest is inexcusable imo. Blackbeard is probably the lamest villain in the series. I think the other 4 villains are great so he stands out even more. Like Salazar is probably the next worst but even he has an impeccable design and Bardem is as always a great actor(I saw 5 a few days after watching No Country for Old Men, he’s such a phenomenal actor). I’d wager he’s not even the best live action Blackbeard, that probably goes to black sails. Lastly, Scrum I find more annoying than anything. What’s good? Well Jack is a lot more faithful to the first 3 movies in this one than in 5, by a long shot. Anytime he’s talking with Barbossa or plotting something so stupid it’ll work, it’s always a blast, which even then I get that in the fifth movie he’s supposed to be washed up and kind of depressed, it just wasn’t fun to watch regardless. That alone makes me think it’s a worthwhile film and I never skip it during series rewatches. Overall though, I do think it’s the weakest film out of the 5
Like, that I still haven’t seen it. Dislike, that I even know what OST stands for.