Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) by Halfwelshman — 29 May 2011

I had high hopes for On Stranger Tides when I heard that it was intended to be far less bogged down by numerous ludicrous subplots than its predecessors. Unfortunately, this abandonment of over-complex narrative results in you actually being able to follow what is going on.

I say unfortunately because now that you can understand the POTC world, you realise how ridiculous a series it is. Cap'n Jack is once again on a quest, but what this quest entails hardly matters when every scene is specifically tailored for Johnny Depp to show off.

I never thought I'd tire of Captain Sparrow, but I think I finally have. It's not all bad though - there are some nice one-liners, the mermaids are impressive and Ian McShane is a real scene-stealer as the diabolical Blackbeard.