On Stranger Tides

After a while, even the most original ideas become a routine. And, when the idea was not really original, and you worked on it for four times in a row, the future is not really bright. You expect the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film, ‘On Stranger Tides’ to be boring and repetitive from the first shot, and yes, they are. And yet, if you love Jack Sparrow, and his friends and enemies, there are several redeeming factors here.

Yeah, the mermaids. They look fantastic, thanks to the computer graphics, so much so that when the mermaid takes the clergymen to her abode underwater, you wish the film would follow them, instead of following Jack and his crew. The love affair that develops between them is the soul of the film.

Other than that, it’s all mumbo-jumbo, ploys to give us some action set-pieces, which you don’t mind, and don’t care about as well.

The fountain of youth. Duh! And Penelope Cruz as a pirate, and Geoffrey Rush as one-legged Long John Silver, and Johnny Depp’s Sparrow of ambivalent sexuality. I’m really interested in his sexuality. I mean, he says that he loves the Cruz character, Angelica, so much so to save her from death, yet, refuses to kiss her, or walk with her to the sunset. There are some issues there...