It’s ironic that the fourth installment of the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise revolved around a quest for the fountain of youth. While it had its high points, On Stranger Tides fell short of recapturing the the adventurous spirit of the first film.This 136-minute expedition, which is available on Blu-Ray and DVD Oct. 18, follows Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, the often slurred-speech pirate we have grown to love, and his race to find the fountain of youth. Sparrow is not alone in his quest, instead going up against both the British and Spanish armies as well as the “pirate all pirates fear” Blackbeard, played here by Ian McShane. Throw in Blackbeard’s daughter, Angelica, played by Penelope Cruz (who even while sporting a mustache can capture the hearts of audience members) and you have what seems to be a simple plot for a family-friendly adventure. What seems to be.
Leave it to the screen writers to complicate any mess the Sparrow seems to find himself in. The film is chocked full of deception and side-turning, to the point where people are fighting with swords, and you aren’t even sure why.
Other characters brought in for the fourth installment include the freshest new monsters that are some vicious but seductive mermaids, which are cruelly hunted and tortured for their tears, a key ingredient to reaching the fountain.
While Disney’s newest portrayal of the half-woman, half-fish creature could easily traumatize a younger viewer that is used to friendly fish and singing crabs, these mermaids being just about the only other women in the movie apart from Cruz suggests something more worrying beneath the light-hearted mateyness. Every character involved is scheming, double-crossing and self centered, making it difficult to remember who you should be rooting for.
The beginning scenes in 18th century London were the closest thing to the heart-warming Captain Jack adventure we haven’t seen since 2003’s Curse of the Black Pearl. In the brief moments of downtime, there’s some enjoyable comedy and even some useful dialogue. That is soon drowned out by another chase or sword fight to get something that will help them get another thing or stop someone else getting the thing they want. You get the point.
The Blu-Ray/DVD combo was a final glimmer of hope, but followed suit with the film as it falls short of anything spectacular. On Stranger Tides’ Blu-Ray touts a surprisingly poor collection of bonus features. The only additional video content is a three-minute Bloopers of the Caribbean, a pair of one-minute Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: Captain Jack’s Brick Tales animated shorts (I can only guess made to promote the film’s video game), plus the omnipresent Discover Blu-Ray 3D with Timon & Pumbaa instructional video. And that’s the lot for video-based extras, leaving the rest up to director Rob Marshall and executive producer John Deluca’s audio commentary. Thankfully, there’s an enjoyable amount of technical information and amusing anecdotes throughout the track. Being a Double Play release, the Blu-ray also comes bundled with a DVD copy of the film.
Bottom line, when it comes to On Stranger Tides’ Blu-Ray DVD Double Play, the high-definition disc may dazzle the eyes, but the film itself certainly isn’t worth your pieces of eight.
Chelsea Daubar can be reached at minaret.news@gmail.com.