FOURTH “PIRATES” TIMELESS

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:

ON STRANGER TIDES

Starring Johnny Depp,

Penelope Cruz,

Ian McShane,

Kevin McNally,

Astrid Berges-Frisbey,

Stephen Graham,

Keith Richards

Directed by Rob Marshall

Written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio

Running time 137 mins.

Rated PG-13

          Another one for the ages.

          While none of the three sequels in the franchise surpasses the first, “On Stranger Tides” seems now to take a second-place finish in the series so far.

          As enjoyable as the second and third installments are, the hyper-supernatural aspects with Davy Jones, his crew, and Calypso might have been just a wee bit overdone compared to the single fantastical aspect of the first (that would be the curse on the Black Pearl) seeming more by appearing less.

          “On Stranger Tides” does share much the same amazingness–mermaids, the Fountain of Youth–but presents the supernatural in a manner which now seems almost reasonable. Remember in the third one when Barbossa’s hands chuck swords up the floorboards, with perfect deftness, perfect timing, the floorboards being somehow wide enough apart to admit the hilts, yet not so wide that the pirates creeping and peeking below could be seen? Well, after a thing like that, the Fountain of Youth seems practically logical.

          But steering away from the magical world, the visuals alone of “Tides” rank it close to the first. Again, tactile. And not just because it’s in 3D. Which is cool. We get the sense that we really are in that world because of the sheer production value. The sets and the costumes and everything on the screen pull us into a place larger than life, and the only thing we don’t get is seasick.

          Upshot: Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) travels with Blackbeard the Pirate (McShane) and Balckbeard’s daughter (Cruz) in search of the Fountain of Youth–a very Grail-esque Fountain, by the way–as does Captain Barbossa (Rush), now working for the British crown, and as do a host of Conquistadors.

          As Captain Jack, Johnny Depp provides once again the heart of the movie with his super-cool pirate ways. Sean Connery will always be the best Bond. But in Johnny’s case, only he could ever play Jack Sparrow at all, that’s how good he is.

          And all this even with a different director. No Gore Verbinski this time. No lots of other names from the first installments, too. But not to a bit of detriment.

          Also, the 3D flat out works. Gone are the days of the chintzy paper glasses and the cheap 3D that always looked blurry and never worked right. Now they’ve got it down to a science. Nor is the story in service of a gimmick. The 3D merely seems like a nice fat cherry on top of a whole lot of stuff that’s already great.

          This is the movie that kicks off the summer, and in grand fashion. Let’s hope it’s not the last in the franchise, either. The filmmakers did such a good job with this one, what would be the point in putting an end to so much fun?