Stranger Tides

The Pirates are back and attempting another summer of breaking box office records.

Sadly I'm missing opening day but I couldn't help but throw my two cents out there before I actually see the movie.

First... why on earth are they making a FOURTH "Pirates" movie? Ok, reason number 1- money. People love the romanticized idea of pirates and they love Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp loves being Jack Sparrow. Give the people what they want and bing bang boom, Disney is up to their neck in pirate gold. (Please excuse my corny choice of words).

Reason number 2- well... I'm not sure there is much of a reason other than making money. But hey, in this economy it is pretty damn important. Entertaining people is just a happy bi-product.

I haven't met a single person who hates Pirates of the Caribbean. I can understand if you're not a rabid fan, but if you just flat out hate it, you have no soul. Honestly. It's called "suspension of disbelieve". Let it happen, you'll like it.

Having said all that, I'm going to have to back-pedal a little and admit that the "Pirates" sequels left something to be desired. I fell in love with the first movie. It made me want to get into the film business because [successful] epic adventure-comedy movies are rare. "Dead Man's Chest" comes along and the fan girl inside of me wanted to squeal like a frenzied Twilight fan who just grabbed a handful of Robert Pattinson's hair, but the rational side of me was worried. Disney sequels have a reputation of being horrible. To my surprise, "Dead Man's Chest" was actually fun and Geoffrey Rush's return as Barbossa had me downright giddy. But it all fell apart with "At World's End". The story became convoluted, and to this day I'm not sure I fully understand the film. Also- how did Will and Elizabeth NOT end up together? This is Disney for pete's sakes! Ok, technically they did end up together... under the condition that they could only see each other once every ten years. ONCE EVERY TEN YEARS. Elizabeth might as well have ended up with Jack.

I digress.

I had been hesitant about the idea of "Pirates" sequels since they were announced, but after seeing "At World's End" I wished with every bone in my body that another movie would be made just to make up for the disappointment I felt. And by golly, here it is! When I first heard the announcement I had the same worried pit in my stomach I had when "Dead Man's Chest" was announced, especially since some key crew members were changing (namely, the director). But I saw the trailer and was relieved. Actually, I was excited and I couldn't believe it. It was as if the sequel I had been hoping for had finally been made. Bonus: Geoffrey Rush decided to rejoin the cast as well! Can't go wrong with Depp & Rush.

Admittedly, movie trailers can be deceiving, but I'm going to step out on a limb and say "Stranger Tides" is going to be a big hit. We'll see if my opinion changes once I actually see the movie.

Please give me a couple of days to get a full review up. I might need to see the movie twice before giving my opinion. "Pirates of the Caribbean" (Curse of the Black Pearl) is one of my all time favorite movies and as you can probably tell, I am way too involved to give a half-assed review.