Thread:Rodangizzardcrusher3/@comment-26687285-20160822213306/@comment-26687285-20170620141147

I recently rewatched Tides and I liked it more this time around. I especially enjoyed Geoffrey's performance. Infact, this might be my favorite turn with Barbossa. IMO He really is the star in this one. He was at his best as a straight in part 1, but he's just as interesting and entertaining in an entirely new way here. I love how they re-invented his character and gave him a completely new motivation and purpose in the story, especially since he didn't get alot to do last time because of how crowded the third movie was. Which is why, as I've said before, I really wish they'd ended Barbossa's story here and let us use our imaginations to fill in what might happen next. Not only would it've been better if he had stayed dead after the first film, but he's already had more than enough screentime in the other ones as well to warrant his retirement from the series. Now his revenge plot has been concluded, he's got a crew and a powerful new ship (negating the need for any further bickering over the Pearl), and this scene pretty much ties up all loose ends.

The same goes for Will and Elizabeth. We already know what happened to them after part 3. The post-credit stinger tells us everything we'd want to know. It was fine the way it was. There was no need whatsoever to bring them back.

I also think the romance subplot should've been left out completely. It not only adds nothing to the main story, but it just makes the mermaids' nature confusing. Are they monsters or not?. They're introduced as these dangerous predatory succubi who only appear human to lure in prey, but once they introduce Syrena and just drop that entire notion and make her act like a regular human who just happens to be half fish.

Then there's some unnecessary gags that I could've done without. Like Jack getting slapped by that mermaid or many of his dumb mannerisms and one-liners. This is what turned me off the most about the new film, how they've increacingly made Jack into a doofus when that's not what he's supposed to be and not what innitially made him so compelling. In the first film he wasn't just some goofbal constantly getting into slapstick scenario's. He was actually really suave, cunning, and even seemed a bit morally ambiguous. Until he shot Barbossa, you were never 100% sure that he wasn't going to betray Will or Elizabeth at some point. He was clearly out for himself but still managed to be likeable and cool, which is why we couldn't help but admire him. The mistake that I feel the sequels have increasingly made is that they try too hard to make Jack cool or funny by forcing him into wacky sequences and giving him a bunch of catchphrases, when infact the character works alot better when he's given a simple, grounded scenario.

P.S. This rewatch also made me come around a bit on Dead Men. I'm gonna take a look and see if I can get someone to see it with me this weekend, just to have seen it. And also because it's available here in 2D (thank God!).