Just saw it with my wife.
Note: We think the first 3 movies are all fantastic and do not get the “hate” for 2 and 3.
Anyway, we liked it, but didn’t adore it. It felt like it was missing something. I think we need to get the DVD and see it again a few times.
My guess is that the missionary survived and that he and the mermaid are going to serve the same function in this trilogy that Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom did in the first one. (That is, they’re going to be the primary love interest.)
Some observations about the movie in the spoiler tags.
[spoiler]Holy crap, the scene where Jack maroons Blackbeard’s daughter is so full of holes. He gives her a pistol with one shot, and she assumes it’s so she can kill herself with it. Problem is, she just drank from the fountain of youth. It has already proven to be able to prevent death by violence. The shot wouldn’t have killed her!
So he tosses the pistol at her feet. And she’s pissed as hell. Jack walks away, knowing she is about to attack him. Oh shit, here she comes from behind, with a pisto…what? a tree branch? Where the fuck is the gun? She yells at him in Spanish for awhile while he spends about two weeks preparing to cast off, and only when he’s too far for her to hit accurately does she decide to pick up the gun and shoot at him. They should have left the pistol out of the scene entirely. [/spoiler]
Overall, I thought the movie was fun and lighthearted. It won’t win any awards, but I don’t regret going.
I agree that they play the same role and that he survived, but I’m skeptical about it being the start of a new trilogy.
Really?
We saw it heal wounds she already had, but did we see her have any advantage after the fact?
I thought it was just “meh”. #2 and #3 were awful. This one was better, but the first one made me want to be a pirate. 
I thought it felt disjointed and lots of loose ends. I’m anxious to see it again to pick up on the more subtle points but I won’t pay to see it in the theater again.
'Cause it was “inspired” by it! The first time I saw it I thought, “These people owe Tim Powers some money!” I’m glad they finally got around to giving it to him.
I liked it. Then I like all the Pirates movies. Lots of scenery chewing, tongue in cheek acting. The violence was surprisingly brutal. It wasn’t great but it was entertaining, which is all I ask in a summer blockbuster.
One thing that bugged me was how indifferent Blackbeard and crew were to the mermaid. Her staying alive should have been their top priority, at least till they collected her tear.
Also, I could see Sparrow’s trick a mile away. Blackbeard should have been able to as well.
We saw it last weekend and thought it was meh. I’m not sure if it’s better than 2 and 3 or not but it was at least more coherent. The thing that stuck out for me was the lack of naval battles and general, you know, pirating. It was basically a giant scavenger hunt, a scavenger hunt without many surprises at that. I especially disliked the giant deus ex machina ending.
I really hated Penelope Cruz’s character. I generally dislike her acting these days too, but the character was pretty irredeemable. Her motivations where thin and she acted like a comically irrational women throughout. I don’t mind some stereotyping but in this case I just wanted to slap the shit out of her.
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa were still great as was Blackbeard. Some of cameos were very good, notably the King and the Mermaid, but all in all the movie just lacked any drama or compelling reason to care about any of the outcomes. A little extra character development and a few less big, dumb fight sequences would have gone a long ways. Oh, and add some fucking pirating!!!
The cave where they found the fountain looked really familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen it in other movies, but I can’t think which ones.
I think POC needs more conventional stories and less fantastic creatures. I think the characters and scenery are enough to carry the movies without crazy gimmicks.
Really did not like the new one at all. Part of what made the franchise successful in the first 3 was the relationship between the three major characters. With that gone, I was immediately bored. My 14 year old daughter liked it - but didn’t love it and doesn’t want to buy it when it comes out… Bummer!
Finally saw it last night on DVD, and liked it a bit, but it was nowhere nearly as good as the original. I missed Keira Knightley. Depp and Rush were very good, though; likewise Gibbs. Blackbeard and his daughter were ok but not great, I’d say, while the Spaniards seemed like an afterthought.
Did you notice Judi Dench’s cameo as the woman whose earrings Jack steals when he swings into her carriage?: Pirates Of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides - "Is That It?" Clip - YouTube. IMDb.com credits her as “Society Lady.”
Larry, I agree, that cave looked very familiar. Was it in some horror movie set in Central America?
As for the pious young missionary and the sexy mermaid…
Seemed like he’d been stabbed pretty badly in the fight at the Fountain of Youth - but he’s still able to stagger all the way back to the pool, where the mermaid says she can save him. He asks for her forgiveness, then she kisses him and swims off with him, very deep into the water. How could she save him? Could she heal him? Was she somehow going to turn him into a merman? Or do you think the director was trying to suggest something else…?
Elendil, I believe the answer is that the scene is poorly edited and has lost the meaning in its edit.
His wiki entry reads:
He returns to Syrena begging for forgiveness and frees her, however she swimms away to the fountain to give Jack her tears. When she returns Phillip is dying and asks if he wants to be saved, to which he replies yes. They kiss and is then dragged under water by Syrena because a mermaids kiss can make you breathe under water.
Well, OK, but
that wouldn’t help him with his gut wound. And is his magically-bestowed ability to breathe underwater good forever, or just temporarily, do you think?
Found this in the movie’s FAQs on IMDb.com:
**What happened to Phillip at the end of the movie?
**There are many opinions and thoughts on this question. In the film, it is stated by one of the other sailors that a mermaid’s kiss can prevent a man from drowning. If the mermaid attack scene is closely watched you can see that, while teasing/tempting the sailors, not one of those mermaids actually kissed one of the sailors that they pulled overboard to kill. On the other hand, Syrena did kiss Phillip. Furthermore, it was noted by Blackbeard himself that she clearly cared for him, and they used this as a means to get her tear (making her think Phillip was dead and then have a tear of joy at finding him still alive) It was also noted that she was ‘different’ and that the entire tone of the end scene at the pond was different from the tone of the mermaid attack scene. Syrena says that she can save Phillip, so it seems likely that is what she is doing, saving him and kisses him beforehand to ensure that he doesn’t drown while beneath the water. Other possibilities include: (1) she was taking him to the fountain of youth, but whether a sacrifice is required or merely drinking from the fountain to heal his wounds is unknown, or (2) she turned him into a merman.
Gemma Ward, who plays that mermaid, is also in The Strangers. Good at playing creepy.
Personally, I liked all three of the original ones, but thought this one was severely underwhelming. The biggest problem, I think, is that Jack Sparrow is inherently not a main character; he’s something that happens to main characters. Focusing on him is a mistake.
I once described Jack Sparrow as both the catalyst and the obstacle of every plot point. In this one he was just along for the ride; he knew what they’d find at the conclusion of the chase so didn’t even need to be there.
Actually, I should watch this again, as I think I’ve forgotten a lot.