Okay, this is a controversial franchise. I see a lot of people who like it, but at the same time, god awful critics like Ebert and Rotten Tomatoes bashing it without good reasons. Even when I come across someone who doesn't like these movies, I ask them why, and they can never give me a good reason. The trolls pretty much bash themselves with their illogical responses. So why is it that these films are bashed? I might never really know. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

This franchise was based off a ride at Disneyworld and it seems to be like something people would do. It's pirates, one thing that people like to see during the Summer. People I hang out with seem to enjoy them, but I notice there are critics that take a bashing to them. Most of it is towards the sequels as the first one gets a free pass somehow, but it's something I never did understand.

Now to go into it. And no I won't be separating this blog series into segments anymore. I'm going at a more direct approach. I'm actually going to do something that no fan of this should have to do. Read the criticisms. This could scar me as I might have to actually read some of the terrible things that the douchebags at Rotten Tomatoes say. But I'll go through it by movie.

Curse of the Black Pearl

From what I understand this is the one that critics bash the least and also the one with the least money. Once they started making the sequels, they earned a lot more money. A bit too much money I would say. I'll get into that later. The first one is complimented a lot compared to the other three. A lot of the praise is towards the performance of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow who is great throughout the franchise. He really makes the character unique, as he does kind of go down in history as Depp's best role ever. Geoffry Rush is also awesome as Captain Barbossa. For me, I consider it not the best of this franchise, but I do enjoy it as kind of mindless fun as I heard the great Doug Walker briefly describe it in his review of the fourth film. I haven't found much negative criticism except for little things here and there like how people are fascinated by floating objects in the water. It is strange. I wouldn't mind if they only did it for plot devices, but they do it constantly in this movie. The first instance is a floating umbrella. Are you kidding me?! Anyway, I should move on the the more mixed bag movies.

Dead Man's Chest

This is part of what I think is part of the linked story which I liked, but critics found it too complicated. I didn't mind how complicated the plot was. I actually enjoyed it. I really like Davy Jones in the movie, as the CGI looked awesome and I really like how Bill Nighy portrays this character. Also, Will Turner's father is in the movie, and I thought that was an interesting touch. Other things I like are the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken, two awesome things that this movie had to offer! The action also got better in this movie than the first as they actually got more creative with their action scenes. But from what I gathered the movie seemed to be too hyped for most. When someone sees a movie they really like, they get super excited when they announce a sequel. Sometimes they are satisfied, but other times they are disappointed. An example of an over-hyped movie that some people use is the Matrix Reloaded and once the two movies were compared. I don't think the movie was too over-hyped, I still like it better than the first, as I think things got deeper. If you want to know a really over-hyped movie, my example is the Dark Knight Rises, seriously when you're done watching it you will get angry. Still, we do see more relationships with characters, more development, we learn more about them, we see how things have been since the first film. I personally think this is better than the first movie.

At World's End

Now this is the most expensive movie ever made, so let's give them a hand for all that they managed to accomplish with this movie. They got really creative with a lot of things, we see some ends being tied up that needed to be in the franchise. I consider this my favorite of the franchise. Once again, I am a minority. Critics usually say that the movie is too complicated with its plot to follow. Well that's unfair. If you don't like movies that are too complicated then why do you over-rate the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy?! Seriously, if I talked about over-rated movies, that would be the first franchise I would tackle. As I said before, I don't mind the complex plot of this movie. It's easier to follow then the crap Nolan pulled in the Dark Knight Rises. I think it's a big pay off. I like the action of this movie the best out of the four, also it gives a nice finale feel. All the characters go their separate ways in the end and I feel satisfied. This movie kind of makes the fourth unnecessary, but whatever. Also, Chow Yun-Fat is in the movie, and we see the controversial return of the Fu Manchu that my brother at one time tried convincing me to grow. I can see why I am a minority on thinking that this is the best of the three, but still, I love the film for what it is. Great Summer fun and entertainment, and easier to understand than the Nolan Batman movies. Also, the bloopers on the DVD are funny as hell! That's just a little note I thought I would add.

On Stranger Tides

This is the one movie that had the most bashing. I remember one critic referring to the movie as "nothing". I have not idea what he meant by that, so my confusion is what makes that review stand out in my head. But still, let's ignore that. The movie is kind of referred to as predictable. The two previous sequels had a lot of plot twists and complexity that critics complained about, but I think they're missing it now. I think with the new director, he saw the reviews and he decided to tone down the plot twists, but he went too far for their liking I believe. For me, I kind of do see this movie as the weakest of the four, so I can understand. The characters don't really seem as likable as before, with the exception of Angelica, who is both hot and fun, and I think it makes it more interesting for Jack to have a love interest of his own. The most action he got in the previous films was getting slapped or tricked so he could be left for dead. Something that people bring up is that this is the first film of the franchise without Orlando Bloom or Kierra Knightley. This is either seen as a positive or a negative. Now to clear it up, I like these two. At first I was confused why others didn't. I remember in Doug's review of the movie is that he thought it was good because he thought they didn't belong in the sequels. So that kind of cleared it up. So from what I gathered, people don't call them bad, just unnecessary. I'm sure there are trolls who hate on every little thing that will say otherwise, but if they do, let them know that Liam Neeson will find them. The actors are replaced with two other characters. A forgettable religious guy, and a sexy mermaid. I don't mind them as much as the general audience does, but I don't really fully welcome there. I feel like they're just there to fill the void. But still, I like the movie for what it is. Like the other films, it's Summer fun that I can enjoy.

So that was my take on the franchise

Overall, I like these movies in the same way that I like the Transformers movies. As cool Summer fun that everyone can enjoy. But I freaking love the Transformers much more because they come off as more awesome to me, and I am so much of a fan there that occasionally I throw parties after watching the films. With Pirates of the Caribbean, I think that the criticism is too harsh, but I get so confused why these movies are so successful, and the majority are among the highest grossing films.

But still, I recommend them to people who enjoy a good time. I remember how much fun I have watching them.

Now that I got the most popular underrated films out of the way, I am out of ideas. Hopefully someone will be nice enough to leave a suggestion, or I might do research this week.