Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) by Jredekop — 20 Nov 2011

While it is completely the weakest of the entire series, On Stranger Tides is pure fun. It takes a while to get up to speed (the first half had me worried it would end up in the same area as Indiana Jones 4 or Rocky 4 ended up in), but once it picks up, the movie doesn't stop until the finish.

Johnny Depp is always a joy to watch on screen, and always finds a way to work with his part. Just look at Secret Window: a predictible and contrive movie, yet Johnny Depp still sorta shines through. At this point in the series, it is starting to feel a little tired.

Pirates of the Caribbean is really playing its last chips here. Not all the originality is there, though the mermaids were one of the more interesting things seen in the Pirates movies. Jack Sparrow's jokes are starting to get a little tacky, but there are still a few that will draw genuine laughs.

Let's just hope Depp keeps to his word with "Did everybody see that, because I won't be doing it again." A fun one to watch, but the series is steering into some dangerous tides here.