Test 2

Please select your preferred language.

請選擇你慣用的語言。

请选择你惯用的语言。

English
中文简体
台灣繁體
香港繁體

登入

記住我

初到 Fridae?

Fridae Mobile

Advertisement
Highlights

More About Us

時尚娛樂

« 較新的 | 較舊的 »
23 May 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Rob Marshall pares down the Pirates franchise for a new beginning but did he throw the baby out with the bathwater?

Rating: PG (Some Violence)

Director: Rob Marshall

Screenplay: Terry Rossio, Ted Elliot; based on a novel by Tim Powers

Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush

Release: 19 May 2011

As much as I loved the rampant silliness of Gore Verblinski’s direction in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, I counted myself amongst the masses who were glad it was finally over. Simply put, the films got too long, too meandering and incomprehensible, and became way sillier than we could stand.

In taking over the reins, Rob Marshall puts right all the faults of the trilogy, making On Stranger Tides second only to the first film in the series. It helps that the script is based on the 1987 adventure novel of the same name by Tim Powers, with pirate captain Jack Sparrow replacing the original protagonist. As a result, this may well be the first Pirates film with a coherent, streamlined, and disciplined plot. It helps that it’s the shortest running Pirates film too.

If you really want to know, On Stranger Tides is another treasure hunt film – this time for the fabled Fountain of Youth. The participants in the hunt are: Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, Penelope Cruz as his old flame and rival pirate, Ian McShane as her father Blackbeard, and Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, and the imperial Spanish armada. There’s something about capturing flesh-eating mermaids too, I think.

As befitting a director who has only made musicals (Chicago, Nine) up to this point in his career, Rob Marshall has a firm sense of choreography. The many action scenes and swordfights are well-plotted and entertaining, though they lack the big setpiece feel.

Where Rob Marshall trips up is that due to his unique resume, he lacks a cinematic vision. Almost all shots are framed far too tightly, dulling the sense of space and spaciousness. Say what you like about Verbinski’s storytelling but that man really made you feel his films can only belong up there on the big screen.

Rob Marshall’s take on the Pirates franchise is profoundly radical. On the downside, you may miss the incessant silly wordplay and puns, or the comic mayhem of ever-shifting alliances, double and triple crosses, and an “every man for himself” race to the finish. If those are what you’d expect in a Pirates movie, you may be disappointed. Otherwise, On Stranger Tides is a tolerable, serviceable rejuvenation of a glorious franchise.

讀者回應

搶先發表第一個回應吧!

請先登入再使用此功能。

Social


請選擇新聞及專欄版本

精選個人檔案

Now ALL members can view unlimited profiles!

Languages

View this page in a different language:

讚好

合作夥伴

 ILGA Asia - Fridae partner for LGBT rights in Asia IGLHRC - Fridae Partner for LGBT rights in Asia

Advertisement