Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) by Kevin D — 23 Apr 2016

A Comparative Look at the Pirates Series - Part 4: On Stranger Tides.

I'm not sure why Disney wanted to make a fourth entry in the 'Pirates' series, outside of the obvious financial gains involved with exploiting one of the best cinematic characters ever created. On Stranger Tides is the most departed from the original films, and most would agree that it is best viewed as a stand-alone movie, and separate from the originals.

This film wipes the slate clean and gets rid of nearly every character from the original trilogy except for Jack, Barbossa, and for some reason they kept sailor Gibbs (Kevin McNally). Here we find Jack chasing after the Fountain of Youth, and it is unknown how much time has passed between the events between the third and fourth films. He is still running amok, perhaps without as much drive and direction as before, but we find him in England on the other side of the ocean up to his old antics. There are a lot of new characters introduced into the story, an old flame of Jack's named Angelica (Penelope Cruz), and a new anti-hero pirate Captain Blackbeard (Ian McShane with his steely grey eyes).

As the Spanish Navy sets sail to find the Fountain of Youth before anyone else does, the main crew go after it searching with the infamous 'Compass that points to the thing you want most' plot device. I didn't feel as though this movie really brought anything new to the series as a whole, despite being the most modern adaptation of the Disney classic. It kind of just goes through the motions, and although it looks fantastic, is a bit boring in places. The quest is still there and some fantastic settings, yet it feels kind of static for an adventure film. I thought this one was probably the most boring out of all them.

Unfortunately this one is just a cash grab from the Disney corporation, and that makes it decidedly the worst of the series and I think most would agree that it was generally uninspired from start. Still, a high production value saved this movie from becoming a total flop in the theatre.

2/5.