thomasporter-43693 This is one of those movies I knew going in that I would have a hard time with. I was told many things about this movie that were only criticism and hate. While I try to form my own opinion on every movie I see and begin by ignoring anything I've heard, This movie fell terribly short of any review I had heard or the past trilogy of POTC.Missing two of the greatest assets of the franchise hurt this movie some, but the main reason this movie suffered was because of the supporting roles not stepping up to the plate. Sparrow and Barbosa did well in keeping the adventure interesting, but the other roles fell short. In my opinion, this insert was flawed in a major way and damaged the franchise. While the plot was okay, it didn't come together and the new characters hurt this movie in comparison to the first trilogy.

jaredpahl When Gore Verbinski wrapped up his Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy with the massive, climactic epic, At World's End, it felt like the end of an era. The history built up between the characters was brought to a head and completely resolved by the closing credits. And yet, with more money to be had, a fourth movie was commisioned. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides suffers mightily in comparison to Gore Verbinski's iconic trilogy. It is lacking in energy and style, and the new cast of characters are uninspired. Still, On Stranger Tides gets the job done competently. This is a serviceably entertaining comic adventure with some fun set-pieces and beautiful scenery. Taken on it's own merits, it works as a nice bonus adventure for the series.The story is the antithesis to At World's End's sprawling complexity. Jack Sparrow, Barbossa, The English, The Spanish, Blackbeard (Ian McShane), and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz), are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth, all with their own motivations for getting there. The rules and regulations of the fountain's mystical powers require a good bit of side quests (finding two silver chalices, capturing a mermaid's tear, etc.), but On Stranger Tides' story is dramatically slimmed down from all three previous movies.On the one hand, I liked the decision to shed the extra narrative weight. It would have been impossible to try to top the epic richness of At World's End, so scaling down makes perfect sense. However, what On Stranger Tides loses in narrative fat, it also loses in charm, personality, and energy. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann may have seemed like dead weight at times in the first three movies, but their exclusion here makes you appreciate what they brought to the series. They were the straight men among the colorful ensemble cast, directing the story forward and allowing Jack Sparrow and the rest to find that sweet spot on the peripheries of the story. With On Stranger Tides, most of the characters from the previous entries are gone, and the show is run by Jack Sparrow in as close to a standard "hero" role as he's had in the series. There is no getting around it, things just feel lonely without that crew we grew to love over the trilogy. The cast around Captain Jack lacks the personality of the first three films. Everybody fulfills a standard archetype, nothing more, nothing less. Aside from Cruz's Angelica, who has a great sultry chemistry with Depp, the cast is forgettable. Even Ian McShane's Blackbeard seems like a discount Barbossa from the first movie. His ship, The Queen Anne's Revenge is a beautifully designed set, but it's big hook is that Blackbeard's magic sword can control its ropes and shoot fire from the hull. Compared to The Black Pearl and The Flying Dutchman, it's pretty lame. That feeling seems to extend to the production design and action as well. Where this series used to savor the opportunities for unique creature designs and action set-pieces, On Stranger Tides coasts along well worn territory. There's nothing wrong with zombies or carriage chases or any of the other adventure clichés that are trotted out in the film, but nothing is particularly inspired. The mermaids are the most unique of the new additions in the creature department, and they're well-rendered, but like the rest of On Stranger Tides' design elements, they don't add up to much. Everything looks nice individually, but I can't say I was swept up in the world the same way I was in Verbinski's Trilogy.Rob Marshall, as director, proves that not just anybody can bring to these stories the type of crowd-pleasing excitement that Gore Verbinski brought to his trilogy. The action scenes are fun, but the rhythm and cadence is somehow off. Verbinski seamlessly merged humor with action and he filmed his action scenes with a palpable sense of zest for filmmaking. Marshall's action scenes move along jauntily from beat to beat, but the humor therein lurches forward and back when it should blend with the thrills. I liked the opening chase and the first swordfight between Angelica and Jack, and the rest of the set-pieces are functional, but none of the action quite reaches Verbinski-level excitement. The climactic final fight in the Fountain of Youth in particular is deficient. Compare it to the similar finale of Curse of the Black Pearl. That scene was so full of life, with sweeping camera moves, a roaring score, and the enthusiastic vigor of the cast. It was heaven for an adventure enthusiast like myself. Tides' scene is dead in comparison. It boasts a beautiful set and good fight choreography, but that alone is not enough to bring an action scene to life. As disappointing as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides can be, I still found myself satisfied with it as a straightforward adventure. I was particularly impressed with the tropical locations, which are often jaw-droppingly beautiful. The jungles, beaches, and caves are bright and vibrant and alluring. If you get nothing else from On Stranger Tides, at the very least, you get to see some very pretty landscapes. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a smaller, less exciting movie than the first three, and I can't believe that this relatively low energy romp was directed by the same man who gave us the vivaciously dynamic Chicago, but if you think of this movie as a sort of side quest in the Pirates series, it does the job. The simple tale of the voyage to the Fountain of Youth provides ample amounts of what makes adventure movies fun: lush scenery, polished production design, humor, and thrills. Held against Verbinski's brilliant trilogy, it doesn't hold up, but as a kind of Pirates DLC, it's comfortably satisfying. 72/100

swilliky Another episode of the pirate adventures takes Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and company to the Fountain of Youth. After the Spanish discover a map to the fountain, Jack is heard to be recruiting in London when in fact he is pretending to be a judge to help free his first mate Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally). He escapes from the British troops and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and seeks out his imposter, discovering that it is Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a former lover. They are all seeking the Fountain of Youth and Jack wakes up in a ship headed that way while Barbossa recruits Joshamee after he burned the map.Sparrow learns he's aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge captained by Edward Teach aka Blackbeard (Ian McShane) who can zombify his crew and is convinced he is the father of Angelica. Jack teams up with Scrum (Stephen Graham) who helpfully explains what is happening. Imprisoned on the ship is a religious man Philip (Sam Claflin) who refuses to fight. Jack tries to mutiny with the crew but Blackbeard puts an end to that quickly with magical powers controlling his ship. They head to Whitecap Bay to capture a mermaid for her tears. Blackbeard sends out a crew as bait to lure the mermaids who have sharp death and are quite deadly. Only through crafty maneuvers from Sparrow and luck by Philip do they capture a mermaid Syrena (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey). Check out more of this review and others at swilliky.com

Thomas Drufke After the original trilogy, there wasn't much story left to tell with Will and Elizabeth, so Disney wished to continue the franchise putting a heavier focus on Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. On Stranger Tides featured Sparrow at the center of everything, which can be a good and bad thing.I don't necessarily think it was the best idea to make Sparrow the only character with significant depth, but I also don't think having the story involve mermaids and an overly powerful supernatural villain either. The Pirates films at their best when the stakes are high but are also grounded with some realism. One of the reasons At World's End is a much better film is because there are stakes in that film. William's sacrifice feels earned because we've been with these characters for a few films. I never connected to anyone in On Stranger Tides because the writing never makes a considerable effort to flesh out the characters. The efforts that are made aren't very committed.As a standalone sequel, which is essentially what this film is, On Stranger Tides is far from awful. It has plenty of fun swashbuckling action scenes that the franchise has always presented. Ian McShane is pretty good as Blackbeard, though he doesn't really compare to anything Bill Nighy or Geoffrey Rush did in the original trilogy. But the film itself presents a far goofier tone than any of those films. Sparrow is even more over the top (believe it or not) and thus removing any human connection to the characters.I think it's best to treat this entry as a distant cousin people choose not to acknowledge at a party, because it has next to nothing to do with any of the other films (even the most recent film, Dead Men Tell No Tales). There are flashes of the Pirates we know and love but it's nowhere near as grandiose or as magical as its predecessors.+Flashes of greatness-Forgettable-Characters are getting a little too over the top5.6/10