Pirates 4 was Awesome !

I have to admit, I am a huge fan of the original film Pirates of the Caribbean, the Curse of the Black Pearl. I loved that film when I first saw it, and have fond memories of watching it while on vacation with my family. I was seriously disappointed with the second film, Dead Man's Chest, and soon became notoriously impatient with the great enthusiasm surrounding the film franchise. The octopus villain in the second film seemed like an idea stolen from a old, bad science fiction film that I would lovingly mock on this blog, not a character in a modern A-list movie. When hard core fans of the franchise trashed Pirates 3 as a bad movie, I decided not to go see that film.

However, the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides got me interested, as well as the high amount of profits that the film has made. So, over the long Memorial Day weekend I took a chance and went to see Stranger Tides. My theater experience was annoying, but may be amusing to you. I arrived about ten minutes early to the film with my sister and brother in law. The theater was so packed by fans, that the only seats open where we could sit together were those rows directly in front of the screen. I hate sitting that close, so I went and found an individual seat in the audience. To be polite, I asked the mother of a family if the open seat that I wanted was taken. She said no, with a slight hint of exasperation. I called to my brother in law to indicate where I was sitting. The woman then informed me in a slightly offended tone
" you know, you can sit over there too, those seats are open."
There were two or three seats available on the end. I did'nt want those. I wanted to be in the middle, and I have no idea why the eight dollars I paid to see the movie were less valuable than hers. So I said excuse me and sat where I wanted, which happened to be next to her adult daughter, who was about the same age as me. I believe I seriously offended the grand empress of the theater, by believing that I could sit next to her daughter and soil her with my commoner's germs. Who knew, I might have the plague or lice. Clearly, I wanted to sit next to her daughter because I was some vicious, sick sexual predator, not because I did not want to sit so close to the screen my pupils would dialte and I'd loose my eye sight by the end of the film. Well cheers for a mom that looks out for her daughter. I was a bit afraid that if I glanced at her during the film, this woman would leap and bound over the seats to try an emasculate me with a large bowie knife she kept in her purse just for that. So, this dampened my experience a little. I'm all for protecting our kids though, especially when they are adults sitting next to an adult of the exact same age group. Seriously though, I do wish more parents had this much concern for their kids.

So, what about the actual film? Pirates 4 really impressed me, and is an incredibly enjoyable film. The action is great, the visual effects superb, and the story is engaging. Johnny Dep is at his best as the infamous Jack Sparrow, and Penelope Cruz is great as Angelica, the beautiful pirate daughter of Blackbeard, history's most dangerous pirate. In this adventure, Sparrow sets sail with Blackbeard to find the fountain of youth. In their way are two rival ships with fully armed crew; one British and one Spanish. The captain of the British vessel is Barbossa (Geoffery Rush), from the previous films. Also in this movie are a group of seductive, flesh eating mermaids that lure sailors to the depths of the sea with their enchanting songs, and then devour them at the bottom of the ocean. Pirates 4 is definitely worth a trip to the theater, and is a worthy sequel to the original film.

As I was exiting the theater, the protective mamma bear (who honestly, I do admire to a point) made sure her family sat as I left. Again, I really don't hold it against her. I just made sure she did not have any sharp objects, such as shears or a razorblade, that she planned attack me with as I nudged past her family as I left the theater. I made it out safe, in case you are wondering. I recommend that you arrive at the theater early as this film is very popular, and you need to get a good seat.