Entertainment Weekly, May 13, 2011 – High Seas, High Stakes
Title: High Seas, High Stakes
Author: Anthony Breznican
Publication: Entertainment Weekly
Issue: May 13, 2011
The worst thing for any pirate is feeling rudderless. The first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies grossed more than $2.6 billion worldwide, not counting additional bounty from video, theme-park rides, and merchandise. But the second and third installments turned off critics and tested devoted audiences’ patience with bloated running times and convoluted subplots. Even Johnny Depp, who has made Capt. Jack Sparrow the most universally beloved invention of his career, admits to being ambivalent about the sequels: “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t see them. I did see the first one. I have not seen the second one or the third one.’ To be fair, he tends not to watch his own movies, but even while making 2006’s Dead Man’s Chest and 2007’s At World’s End, he sensed something was off. “They had to invent a trilogy out of nowhere.’ says Depp, 47.
“It was plot-driven and complicated I remember talking to [Gore Verbinski, director of the first three films] at certain points during production of 2 or 3 and saying, ‘I don’t really know what this means.’ He said, ‘Neither do I, but let’s just shoot it.’ This guy is this guy’s dad, and this guy was in love with this broad. It was like, ‘What?”’
With the fourth installment,
