As far as the Pirates of the Caribbean films go, On Stranger Tides may lack the sparkling fun of Curse of the Black Pearl, which I absolutely loved, although closer in spirit to it than those in the previous two films, but I think it's better than a man's chest The Dead, who had great effects and a brilliant Bill Nighy but felt too tall and edgy at times, and At World's End, whose actors gave their all, with great visuals, the score and the final battle but rather complex and bloated on the whole.
The Stranger Tides is not perfect. I got the feeling that there might have been a lot of the show's moments and cliched words, although the story if a little rickety in places here is noticeably less bloated and better paced than the movie released before it and that's a good thing.
I also felt that the romantic subplot (the plot) was underdeveloped and forced, and while there were some cute, weird, and witty pranks especially with Depp, Rush and Cruz, there's a bit of padding that could have been rooted.
However, despite these complaints, On Stranger Tides is a good boost.
Once again, the production values are impeccable, the cinematography is skillful, the costumes, sets and period recreations are original and the effects are superb.
The opening twenty minutes is an example that the writing is at its most pompous and intelligent, and the scenes with mermaids are beautifully depicted and intriguing.
Although it was probably not original, and not among his best, I did a lot like Hans Zimmer's score, which was exciting and brought some much-needed energy.
The characters aren't the best developed, but they are fun and there isn't a lot of them to interrupt the flow of the story, which is a big problem I found with At World's End, while the action sequences are exciting and nibbling. Generally.
I wasn't sure about Rob Marshall as a director, but he does a much better job than expected, and the film is more vibrant than Dead Man's Chest and At World's End.
The acting is good enough for what it was. Johnny Depp plays the lovable rogue Jack Sparrow with voluptuous bravado and deceptive sense of humor and proves it again, while omitting Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom here proved to be a good idea, without my money, the whole adventure would have carried less weight.
Instead, we have Penelope Cruz, who has proven to be a perfect match with Depp. She is feisty, beautiful, cunning and sexy, as well as likable and fun.
I was wondering what they'd do to the bad guys without Bill Nighy, but I don't need to worry.
A worthy addition to the Blackbeard name, Ian McShane is a grizzly magician while committing major evil deeds.
Jeffrey Rush is somewhat underutilized, but he has some great streaks and a fun presence so it's not a complete waste.
In conclusion, On Stranger Tides isn't a perfect movie, but as a boost to a decent enough franchise, it's more than worth it.
You know, what I said about that movie wasn't something I thought I was going to say, because judging by what I saw from the ads/trailers, it looked like it was going to be the worst of the series, but actually to me it wasn't. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox