Review: "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"

It was hard not to feel nervous about the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film. With the completion of the original trilogy, a fourth installment seemed like too obvious of a cash-grab. And perhaps that's all On Stranger Tides deserves to be remembered for. Even so, I have to question the intensity of some of the criticisms leveled at the series' latest, now directed by Rob Marshall (taking over for Gore Verbinski). Is On Stranger Tides a good movie? Probably not. Is it a cash-grab? Absolutely. Does it deserve to be labeled a fountain of maggots? Perhaps that's going too far.

Taking place an indeterminate amount of years after At World's End, this latest (now standalone) adventure traces Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) quest for the fabled Fountain of Youth. While roped into the quest somewhat against his will, Jack must contend with the ferocious Blackbeard (Ian McShane), his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz), the Spanish navy, and Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush), who has since joined England's navy. There's also something in there regarding mermaids and their tears. Plot-wise, it's all over the place, hopping between mild character interaction, exposition, and action set-pieces, some of which are entertaining, others of which are just there. The Spaniards, in particular, are used to ill-effect. The film's climax, a jumble of swords and guns, halts when they arrive, do what they please, and then simply depart for the film to resume.

As Capt. Jack and everyone else make their way for the Fountain, there are a handful of minor laughs, and the occasionally amusing bit of stunt work. Special effects and stunts are, at the very least, the one area where On Stranger Tides is closest in spirit to The Curse of the Black Pearl, with a greater emphasis on more grounded locales, rather than massive amounts of computer generation (for both sets and foes). Gone are the fishy crew of Davy Jones, in are flesh-and-blood sailors and pirates. Mermaids are here too, probably the film's flashiest special effect, but they're handled with surprisingly little fuss. Amidst all of this, I couldn't help but miss original director Gore Verbinski. Whatever the flaws of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, Verbinski does have a knack for creating memorable scenes, often with a fantastic sense of pop surrealism. Marshall's work here lacks any of that. He merely puts the script on screen, with nothing new. It's merely Verbinski, minus the style and giddy enthusiasm.

Yet for all of these changes that harken back to the original, too often the magic, much like the rum, is gone. The odd moment or two works, such as a sequence where Jack tries to seduce Angelica with a candle-lit dinner. But by now the Jack Sparrow character, the biggest reason to see any of these movies, has been taken as far as it can go. Depp still has fun with the role, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that even he is running out of quirks to give his iconic character. Rush, Cruz, and McShane are all perfectly fine in their roles as well, but again, there's just no need for any of this. On Stranger Tides, silly as it is, does allow you to get caught up in its world, but that's mostly based on any goodwill built up from the first three films. It isn't a franchise-killing train wreck, but it has nothing that makes it a must see, either for the casual movie-goer or a die-hard Pirates fan.

This is particularly troubling because, even as a cash-grab, On Stranger Tides didn't have to be so tepid. If the Fast and Furious franchise can suddenly earn positive reviews on its fifth go-round, why shouldn't a franchise with more memorable characters be able to do so on its fourth? On Stranger Tides should have been a true re-invigoration for the series, whether or not it spawns any sequels. Instead, it's merely a mildly amusing diversion that shows how far the series has fallen from the wholly delightful original.

Grade: C

"The King's Speech" - REVIEW

On the surface, one could practically write off Tom Hooper's The King's Speech as something custom-made for the Academy's voting body to gobble up. Not only does it have (real life) royals, but one of them also has a disability; it's the sort of thing that AMPAS loves to cozy up to with a bucket-load of nominations. And that's likely to happen with The King's Speech, although in this case, it would overall be well-earned.

The basics are as follows: The Duke of York (Colin Firth), long-afflicted with an awful stutter, is forced to become king when his brother (Guy Pearce) abdicates the throne, all while Europe gears up for a second world war. To help, his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) seeks out an unconventional Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), to help the future king overcome his speech impediment.

We haven't seen this particular story before, but we've seen this type of story done to death, in countless variations. So how exactly do Hooper and his crew succeed? Frankly, it comes from honesty. The film could have gone for easy crowd-pleasing by having 'Bertie' (the duke's personal nickname) completely overcome his stutter during the runtime of the film. Of course, that's not what happened, and David Seidler's screenplay avoids the easy ways out. When it comes to the the titular speech, Firth doesn't charge forth through the words and deliver them flawlessly, but rather goes through them realistically. And by emphasizing the difficulty involved with treating an almost life-long affliction, The King's Speech actually soars, instead of being hindered. And while the film moves at a stately, at times too stately, pace, Firth's pauses and stammers never become irritating or gimmicky to the point that they distract the viewer rather than convince. Do we feel uncomfortable for Bertie? Absolutely. Parts of the film's opening scene, in which the Duke botches a speech in front of a massive stadium crowd, are almost painfully awkward, but never to the point where the film itself becomes awkward or unpleasant.

Of course, a great deal of this also has to do with the great talent involved. Coming off of the energy built from last year in A Single Man, Colin Firth really gets to shine as the future King George VI, and makes him so much more than a monarch with a stutter. Every bit his equal is Geoffrey Rush, surprisingly toned down but every bit as lively as usual. The two together make one of the best acting pairs of the year, and the film's success is largely rooted in their chemistry. Lending supporting in a handful of scenes is Bonham-Carter as Bertie's wife (and future Queen Mother). Were the role larger, I'd suspect that the Best Supporting Actress race would already have its winner, but as it stands, Carter has enough to work with to make a small-yet-lovely impression.

The film also benefits from handsome production values and a lovely score by Alexandre Desplat, along with Hooper's assured hand in the director's chair. And Seidler's screenplay, while in spots a little choppy, manages to hold one's interest both in dramatic moments and in a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor. Unfortunately, in trying to cover a surprisingly long stretch of history, the film short-changes certain aspects; the abdication subplot isn't given as much time as it probably deserves (in fairness, it probably deserved its own film). But most, if not all, of the issues of the script can be forgotten (temporarily) when the film clicks, which it does quite often. It's not quite kingly, but Hooper's film is old-fashioned, enjoyable cinema worth the price of admission.

Grade: B/B+

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" trailer

As much as I want to be excited for this, the trailer only makes the feeling of this being a cash-grab more transparent. Penelope Cruz looks fun enough, and it's always good to see Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp back together, but the overall feeling is that the franchise has become a little stale and tired. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong when the film arrives on May 20th, but for now, consider me disappointed.

Trailer for "The King's Speech"

And doesn't this look like a limited-but-compelling slice of acting heaven. Firth seems especially on his A-game, and I'm really loving the recent resurgence his career is having (remember The Last Legion...anyone?). He and Rush, one of my favorite working actors, seem to have great chemistry together, which has been stated in nearly every festival review. Bonham-Carter, another personal favorite seems solid too, though the strength of her role may not be up there with the former two. The film arrives in late November, but I wouldn't be surprised if at least Firth's campaign was only a matter of weeks away.

Telluride Review Round-Up: "The King's Speech" [incomplete]

One of the remaining mysteries of 2010, Tom Hooper's The King's Speech, which has no official stills and no trailer, opened today in Telluride. Based on the true story of King George VI's struggle with a speech impediment, the film stars Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, all strong actors. Still, there was always the chance it could turn out to be another The Young Victoria in terms of reception and awards success. Apparently, that isn't the case, and the period piece is launching with some fantastic first reviews:

Variety's Peter Debruge kicks things off with a prediction that the film "should tap into the the same audience that made The Queen a prestige hit," and that "both roles provide a delightful opportunity for Firth and Rush to poke a bit of fun at their profession." He goes on to say that while Rush's performance seems - on the surface - to be showier, "the big scenes are indisputably Firth's." The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt is also extremely positive, and writes that "Firth doesn't just make a British king vulnerable and insecure, he shows fierce courage and stamina...it's not just marvelous acting, it's an actor who understand the flesh-and-blood reality of the moment and not its history."

But Firth and Rush aren't the only ones receiving attention; Honeycutt writes that Bonham Carter "is a revelation here despite a long career as a leading lady." Over at Incontention, Kris Tapely awards the film ***1/2 out of **** stars and says that "These two [Firth and Rush] have amazing, impeccable chemistry together. Each should comfortably find himself in the hunt for Oscar," and predicts that the film will have strong shots at Picture, Screenplay, and Art Direction.

Additional Reviews: [awaiting]

Telluride Verdict: A handsome and standard -yet-engaging royalty piece headlined by two fantastic lead performances.