When Johnny Depp first graced the screens as Captain Jack Sparrow we were all enthralled. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley completed the primary class, with Geoffrey Rush giving us a villain who was complex enough that we understood his motives, yet evil enough for us to applaud his demise. Three sequels later (and the prospect of a fourth sequel still looming) the franchise has died. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley did not reprise their roles for On Stranger Tides, leading to the introduction of Penelope Cruz and a new villain, Blackbeard. The film was hardly original, using excessively similar scenes to the previous films, and was little more than an attempt to continue to create money. The children who had enjoyed it originally were growing up, meaning the film had a hard job; it had to appeal to a newer, younger audience, as well as to the maturing audience. This balance is a precarious one which has limited success. Toy Story is a rare exception, with innuendo and insinuations making the franchise appealing to almost mature viewers while childlike humour carries the film for younger viewers. Unlike Toy Story, Pirates of The Caribbean fails to appeal to its older fans because the franchise has declined into a situation where it is essentially Captain Jack Sparrow running around in a semi-drunken state whilst evading capture. This was funny at first, but after four films you will remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow becomes far less funny and far more mundane.
A 21 year old History graduate looking for someone to listen to his ramblings. Lover of comic books, movies and all other superhero related things. Published in The Independent, always looking for interesting things to write about...Follow me on Twitter at @samclements1993, and check out my blog: http://samuelclements.wordpress.com/
