Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides Review

In my opinion the Pirates films have been going downhill since the first sequel. I believe that the first film was the only truly excellent one. But this fourth film really brings the series to a new low.

Not even Captain Jack can save this train wreck...

At this point in the review I normally give you a brief outline of the story, but this time it's hardly worth bothering. The story is weak, nonsensical stuff surrounding a load of pirates all working for other people, all trying to find the fountain of youth. Throw in a bunch of Mermaids and "Zombies", that really aren't zombies at all, and you get a story that could have been okay, but instead is just boring and turns this film into a two-hour sleeping pill. 


This movie really could have benefited from a bit of effort, but sadly this series has become just another cash cow for the people in Hollywood to milk. Instead then, it's told terribly, with a weak script adding to it's troubles.

Pirates 4 tries to be exciting, it really does. There are explosions, sword-fights, and more - but none of it is exciting, because it's all so overly choreographed and unrealistic. I know the Pirates series isn't about realism but some of this is ridiculous, predictable stuff that even makes the action scenes boring.
And it's Captain Jack himself that adds to this because you know he's going to get himself out of any situation with many witty comments to spare - or at least Hollywood thinks their witty. The truth is that the Captain Jack character is done now. He was funny 5 years ago, now though it's just getting a bit dull.

McShane is just one actor who isn't given a chance to shine...

And Penelope Cruz proves herself to be a pointless addition to the film with a boring character who ends up failing to bring anything to this story - not even a love interest. And you know this from the start due to her character's absence in the later films (this is a prequel - although that's never made very clear!). 
But to be fair, Cruz isn't the only boring character. None of the supporting cast is given anything to interesting which is a great shame because the cast is full of talented actors.

There are no redeeming qualities to this film. The story is weak, the script is poor, the acting is average, and the stunts are boring. Not to mention the weird continuity errors with the rest of the series. I knew this series was going downhill but I was shocked to see by how much. This is a lazy film and one to avoid.

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