Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

This movie is called, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." The title can be a little misleading because throughout the movie, I've been asking myself this one simple little question...Stranger than what?

From the get go, nothing about this movie seemed to click. From the brash one-liners we are so accustomed to hearing from Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), to the spectacular choreographed fight scenes that left us hanging from the previous incarnations of "Pirate" movies.

If this is what this Franchise has turned into, then I'm afraid that I don't want waste my time and money to watch another sequel. Don't get me wrong, but I thought that this "Pirate" sequel should have been called "On Recycled Tides" due to the fact that Johnny Depp seemed less interested in playing the part that made him famous throughout the "Pirate of the Caribbean" franchise. To make matters worse, the Jack Sparrow character seemed to rehash some of the same old jokes way too many times in this movie, and after a while, it started to wear on you...kinda like a party guest that has overplayed his welcome.

Personally, I thought that this movie, with it's poor script, bad acting and terrible direction, had pretty good visual effects. It's just too bad that with a bad story line, they could have made the most of it by doing something a little original or maybe something fresh...like they did in the previous "Pirate" movie with the giant Hamster Wheel.

In the movie, we find Jack Sparrow in search of the Legendary "Fountain of Youth," while taking on old foe Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) who is now working for King George. In this new installment, they introducing a new nemesis...the Dreaded Blackbeard (Ian McShane.) Aboard Blackbeard's ship is a zombie crew and his second in command daughter Angela (Penelope Cruz.) Apparently, Jack Sparrow had a past with Angela but this poorly written script showed no spark between the both of them.

There are Mermaids in the film and I found one scene fascinating where the mermaids with all their beauty, became the attackers of a wild food frenzy shark-like attack. There is a romance between a young mermaid and a young cleric (played by Sam Chaflin) because in every movie, there has to be a straight man that looks good with his shirt off and a beautiful young woman to have something to talk about (...it's kind of a guy thing.)

I'm sorry to say this but, Penelope Cruz was not a good fit in this movie. I love Penelope Cruz...I think she's a wonderful actress, but her role in this movie was a huge yawner. As for Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)...it is unfortunate that all of his best lines were used in the previews.

Keith Richards reprises his roll as Jack Sparrow's Pirate father and even though it's short appearance, it was at least a small breath of fresh air to a movie most people thought was brought to a close after the third installment.

I love the fact that this movie was shot in 3D. My only problem...There wasn't enough 3D visual effects to save this sinking ship. And it begs you to wonder...is shelling out an extra $4 dollars really worth spending for the 3D effects?

On a personal note, It's time for this franchise to set sail into the sunset because realistically, I think this movie was made for one sole purpose...to make a lot of money during it's first week in theaters around the country.

As a movie goer, I found nothing very appealing about this movie. No matter how much or how good the 3D visual effects were, the story line fell flat short and the movie just seemed to drag on...unfortunately, the movie seemed to drag on for about 2 hours and 17 minutes.