[LuciferUA]

The first Pirates film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, was almost universally beloved when it was released. How people approach the sequels is another story, however it is also almost universally agreed that they aren’t as good as the original. As one reviewer of the new film stated “for every bit of good in this film, there is something negative to match it.” I think this is the perfect allegory for the series as a whole.

[wbgtrfv]

Let’s get the bad out of the way. I think the Pirates franchise suffers from two main issues. Their interpretation of Jack Sparrow was lost in translation along the way and the films are suffering from serious franchise fatigue.

[Light]

Part of what made the original film so memorable was Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. He was a seemingly bumbling drunk who managed to get himself in and out of many ridiculous situations with his wit, charm, and guile. As a result of this, you could never fully tell what he was going to do next, but you knew at least it would be outrageously entertaining to follow. There’s a quote in the third film that sums up the character perfectly in my mind: “Do you think he plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along?” The best part about this question is that we as an audience have no idea and are meant to have our own interpretation. However, with each successive film in the series, the question is answered for us. He is continuously shown to have no idea what he’s doing, just happens to get into major situations, and mostly improvises. This seriously drains the fun out of the character and makes him boring to watch unless you really love slapstick humor.