Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 4 – On Stranger Tides

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 4 – On Stranger Tides (2011)
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane
Plot: Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) is back and this time he’s in England…so it’s not really the Pirates of the Caribbean, I guess. After a confusing sub-plot about someone impersonating Jack to get a crew together, Jack ends up joining the crew of Black Beard (McShane). The crew is joined by past love interest Angelica Malon (Cruz), who’s really just there for eye candy.

They’re being chased by Barbossa (Rush), who’s now working for the crown and is also missing a leg. All are in search for the legendary Fountain of Youth, and they have to beat the Spanish there – who want to destroy it? I dunno, I kind of lost track of the plot amidst all of the swashbuckling.

I enjoyed this movie more than I did Pirates 2 and 3, but they do introduce some new characters into the mix here (a young priest and a mermaid) that have a romantic sub plot that’s totally not necessary and kind of distracts from the movie at large. Jack was still fun to see, and it’s great that he finally has his own movie – but I feel like the saying “too much of a good thing” really comes into play with this flick. Jack was great in Pirates 1 because of the strong supporting cast, and in this flick there’s just not enough for him to play off and have some great scenes. Sure Rush does a great job at stealing the show again as Barbossa, but there’s just not enough for him to do and the fact that he’s working for the crown makes him a less interesting character.

Basically, you go to see this movie for Depp and to hear some more great (or decent) Jack Sparrow moments. And you get that. But totally skippable in 3D.