Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Movie Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Rent Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Amazon Video // Buy the Book On Stranger Tides on Amazon
Written by: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (screenplay), Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (screen story), Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert (characters), Tim Powers (novel
Directed by:  Rob Marshall
Starring:  Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush
Rated: PG-13

My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!

Plot
Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) compete with Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penélope Cruz) to find the fountain of youth.

Verdict
This was mishandled. Jack Sparrow is a crude impersonation of himself in this movie, and we spend too much time away from the character that made the movie famous. He's the reason to watch this, and the movie tries to plant a seed for a new character but fails to develop him.
It's a popcorn flick, though a little convoluted when it shouldn't be. Depp's performance felt tired, and we don't get any impressive CGI sequences like we've gotten before. A wow moment could have helped.
It depends.

Review
It's fun to be on an adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow, but so much of this felt off. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are glaring omissions, not returning for this film.
While we get Depp, he feels like a Jack Sparrow impersonator. He didn't pull it off as well as has in the previous films. I don't know if the character is worn out or Depp no longer cares. He's not as charming as he was in The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Being based on an unrelated book, I had hopes this would be a better movie than the last, but it isn't. I guess there's a reason the 1987 book hadn't been translated to film yet. How did the first movie take a theme park ride and turn it into a movie and this can't do it with a book? Is this series just cashing in with the smallest amount of effort possible?

We get a missionary that is supposed to be the new Will it seems but he's painfully underdeveloped. All of his scenes with the mermaid could have and should have been cut to tighten the focus of this movie.

The opening wasn't bad, with lots of action and misdirection. We assume Jack is getting hanged, but it's not him. He leads a chase for his escape as the British try to apprehend him. This is action packed as he makes his way to determine who is impersonating him and putting a crew together.

One of the major faults is the lack of character development. We don't have any good villains like we've had in the past. The side characters aren't interesting, which is something previous movies managed to do.
The Spanish, English, and pirates are chasing the fountain of youth, but it's a fractured tale.