Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was released on May 20, 2011, and is the fourth release in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. It was directed by Rob Marshall, written by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot, and stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, and Ian McShane.

First, let me give you my brief recap and opinion on the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Curse of the Black Pearl was tremendous, a sheer amount of fun, and one of the best films of 2003. Dead Man's Chest was almost as good, but adding a serious plot, and working just as well. It's only downfall was a scene near the end where Keira Knightley completely screwed up her acting, as well as the lack of Geoffrey Rush. At World's End... well, I only have two words: Pirate King.

After the travesty that was Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I had no hope for this series, thought it was dead, and was honestly not looking forward to On Stranger Tides. However, I went to see it (in UltraAVX 3D, no less, which was a bad move, the was $5 more than a normal 3D ticket), and I have to admit, it was alright. Certainly better than At World's End, but not as good as the first two.

Let's start with the acting. Johnny Depp was great, of course, his best moment, without a doubt, being his first scene. Just go see the film, you'll love it. I heard that he was actually getting sick of playing Jack Sparrow, but it doesn't show here, as he does just as tremendous as he always does. Geoffrey Rush is brilliant as usual. Fresh from 1940's London where he was helping Royals, now he's 300 or so years earlier, helping out Royals, this time by being a Privateer in the Navy. Also, he lost a leg. Geoffrey Rush always does a great performance, with Barbossa arguably being his best performance ever. While Barbossa is typically known as a villain, here, he's the deuteragonist, and a good guy, but still just as brilliant. Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane, the new additions, are also great. Ian McShance was perfectly cast as Blackbeard, creating a truly despicable villain. Penelope Cruz does as good as she always does, having some goods lines occasionally.

Now, the film does get rid of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. I would say this is a good thing, because they were getting kinda boring. More Jack Sparrow and Barbossa, please. However, we do have a romance very similar to Bloom and Knightley's, this time, with a missionary and a mermaid. It doesn't work as well, and it also has a slightly confusing ending. We're also missing Pintel and Ragetti, and their Navy counterparts in this film, which is a bit sad, but you get over it rather quickly.

The directing is pretty good. Rob Marshall, the man who directed the film version of Chicago, does a good job here, nothing spectacular, but nothing horrible. There are many swordfights, all great, and widely enjoyable, but not enough ship battle scenes, in my opinion, with them being traded for more swordfights. Luckily, they're all enjoyable.

Overall, this film is good, not sublime, but not horrendous. Much better than the travesty that is At World's End. If you like the Pirates of the Caribbean films, check it out. It's some of Jack Sparrow at his best. However, don't see it in 3D, it's just darker than it needs to be. And as for the UltraAVX 3D, it broke down twice before the film started, and there was nothing really special about it except it cost more. See it in 2D. Overall, a 7/10, a good film.