Friday night my soon to be wife and I went out for dinner and a movie. That movie just happened to be the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. I truly enjoyed the first three but coming into this one with two thirds of the main cast not coming back I wondered how this movie would turn out. As it turned out, the show could go on and do so quite well.
Jack Sparrow was back, and I still think that Johnny Depp pulls off that character extremely well. At first he didn't seem quite himself for some reason but that feeling was soon gone and he was enjoyable as always. I have always enjoyed his character and he pulls off the half drunk, half out of his mind extremely well. His actions, his dialog, and his character as a whole is always entertaining.
Barbossa was back as well, and while his costume and makeup was rather strange in the beginning it got better as the show went on and once he was a pirate and not a "king's man" again it was excellent as in previous movies. His character, despite the makeup, was also excellent once again. Gibbs was also his fun self once again. Other than that it was mostly a new cast, other than the monkey which made its appearance in the bottle the Black Pearl was kept in.
The absence of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan were noticeable, at least for me, but overall the movie did just fine without them. Perhaps with how they ended up in the last movie it was best for the story that they weren't a part of this movie however. Their story has for the most part been wrapped up and ended for the moviegoer.
Of the new characters I really enjoyed Blackbeard. I also really enjoyed the mermaids in their limited viewing and while the character of Philip (a religious man intent on saving the souls of the pirates and Blackbeard himself) wasn't very deep or developed I enjoyed him as well ... and the story of his falling for the captured mermaid was a bit predictable and foreseen it was still good and didn't detract from the movie. Cruz's Angelica was a decent character, not great but not bad either. The rest of the introduced characters (the Spaniards, the royalty in the beginning) were just filler and despite the Spaniards playing a continuing role in the story they got little screen time. I did like their actions at the end in regards to the fountain however.
As for the story itself, I really enjoyed it. It had little to do with the previous movies, which given the missing cast is likely a good choice, but it really held its own as part of the series and as an individual movie. I truly liked the story and how it developed and continued on screen. I also really enjoyed the swashbuckling and action scenes and they continued to be fun, fast paced, and entertaining just as in previous installments. The movie moved along very well and was entertaining from beginning to end, even leaving room and hints at perhaps a fifth movie (not that it should come as a surprise). A couple of my favorite scenes were the mutiny on Blackbeard's ship, the initial confrontation with the mermaids, and ... well, there were a lot that I could list but it was just enjoyable all the way through.
Overall a very good movie definitely worth seeing. A good storyline, enjoyable characters, and a fun, fast paced adventure all around. Get out and see it.
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