Synopsis:
Captain Sparrow crosses paths with a mysterious woman from his past, but can Jack trust her or is she just using him? Captain Jack finds himself thrust into an unforeseen adventure when he is forced upon the infamous Blackbeard’s ship, The Queen Anne’s Revenge, where he is being exploited to find the Fountain Of Youth.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ is one of this year’s first big blockbuster sequels. Hot on the heels of Fast and Furious 5, Pirates 4 is a guaranteed cash cow. There is no risk for Disney in staging a big, elaborate production because they know that no matter how bad the film, they will make money from the Pirates franchise with Johnny Depp at the helm. To that end, the film can be as flamboyant and outlandish as the makers please with no risk of reprisal. So while there are certain conventions and boundaries to operate within, there is a certain degree of free reign that gives rise to a reasonably entertaining assemblage. Having said that, it should be better than it is. The ingredients are all there, it just doesn’t all fit together properly. Johnny Depp being Captain Sparrow is reasonably entertaining, but that’s one of the compulsory elements of the Pirates franchise, it really should be funnier. Of course, there is plenty of swashbuckling action and a fantastical storyline and as such it is an adequate action adventure that ticks all the boxes, but no more.
In fact, there are a number of ludicrously bizarre elements, for example, I must have missed the memo about Mermaids being webslinging vampires now. And the 3D is completely superfluous. There are perhaps two or three moments of (predictably) swords being thrust out of the screen, but apart from that the extra cost of a 3D ticket is to be avoided, as is the film, unless you’re a fan of the franchise.
