Huntr johnny depp movie#It rates fairly close to the original, which is actually a pretty damn good movie - albiet a guilty pleasure for sure. As such, if you can ignore the gapping plot holes and the merely token setup, it’s much more satisfying and fun to watch. It’s more contained, more classically swashbuckled, with a welcome elimination of giant krakens, the afterlife, pirate councils, and ludicrous giant whirlpool ship battles. The plot is a bit of a retrenchment, involving a hectic quest for the Fountain of Youth. Gone are Orlando and Knightly, and the plot focuses mostly on Jack Sparrow and some of the other baddies like Barbarossa and the new Blackbeard (played by the always likable Ian McShane). It feels more like a prequel to the first film (although technically it’s a straight sequel). On Stranger Tides is a major improvement over Pirates 2 and 3 (blech). Still, I’ll mention a few things about the film: This post isn’t so much a review of the 4th P irates installment, but an little digression on its amusing relationship to one of my favorite books. These are small things, and definitely not enough to save the film. I liked the image of the vampire sleeping in the linen closet. Many younger viewers will know this best from Coppola’s Dracula, but he too borrowed it from the 1922 Nosferatu. He pivots up unnaturally out of his coffin. I like what he does with his pointy fingered hands. Depp seems to have blended Jack Sparrow, Hunter S Thompson, and Max Schreck. Chloe Moretz is cute but stuck with perpetual curled lip. There are a few good moments of visual or deadpan humor, mostly involving slightly esoteric riffs to vampire fans. But even the lame business conflict line is underwritten. In fact, the movie devolves into a kind of “we have to save the family business” rivalry type film, even including one of my least favorite Hollywood devices: “everything can be fixed with a good party.” Which includes a 1972 Alice Cooper who looks exactly like 2012 Alice Cooper. There isn’t even an attempt at a character arc for anyone. The creators shove in a large number of characters from the original, even if in mutated form, but there is so much time spent with Depp that everyone else (with the possible exception of Angelique) is anemic at best. There is pretty much zero character development here. For a few moments the fish out of water comedy is funny, even if it’s all in the trailer. Then cut to 1972 and the awakening of our entombed hero. But its presence also leaves no room for any sense of mystery. This is the best part of the film and the least comic. Instead, what happened between Barnabus in the 18th century (involving his affair with the witch Angelique and the subsequent death of his lover and conversion into vampire) is spelled out in a quick prelude. It involves stories being woven out over many episodes (1991) or years (2800 episodes of the original!). The source material is long, dramatic, or rather melodramatic, and convoluted. It’s basically in the meta creative choices and the writing. But the issue here isn’t really Depp’s deadpan Deppist performance, which is certainly one of the better things about the film. One wonders if Tim Burton ever works with anyone other than Johnny Depp. My dedication to all things vampire made me see it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |