Pirates of the Caribbean: On the Stranger Tides (2011)

Much awaited fourth part of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series released worldwide in month of May. After the enthralling success of previous three parts, all were eagerly awaiting for the return of Jack Sparrow. Err… Captain Jack Sparrow. As expected, the release of movie witnessed a grand opening all over the world, surpassing the success of all previous Pirate movies. As per the present trend, it was shot and released in 3D version also.

PLOT: As it was hinted in the climax of previous part, the movie revolved around the hunt for the “Fountain of Youth”. Joined by some new character, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johny Depp), Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Roy Rush) remained to be the only familiar faces. As shown, most feared Pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter (Penelope Cruz) were after Jack Sparrow as he had the map which leads to Fountain of Youth. Somehow Barbossa had joined English army (which looked weird to me) and he too was directed for the search of the fountain. They had to travel through sea (for the very little part), through land of mermaids (special creatures) and though jungles to locate the fountain. Won’t go in detail but the script was not that appealing as in previous cases.

Performances:- As always, Johny Depp stole the show with his amazing wit and brilliant acting. Penelope Cruz was refreshing. This stunning beauty left me amazed at times. Would like to mention that she was pregnant when the film was being shot(may be she still is). So some of the sequences were shot with the help of her sister. Blackbeard appeared very depressing to me. Barbossa and Gibbs maintained the same consistency. That beautiful mermaid and Blackbeard’s son were wonderful to watch.

Screenplay:- Well I must say I was disappointed to see the 3D version of the movie. They could have made it better as most of the times (almost 80%) movie looked 2D. I really liked the scene where they were trying to catch the mermaid, wonderfully shot! 

Locations were beautiful!

Music:- That one soundtrack is the life of this movie, its true identity and was heard throughout the film. Some new tunes were added as per the situation and music remained one of the highlights of this film.

Conclusion:- I really missed the crew and The Black Pearl. The story had very little part of sea journey which disappointed me. The new characters have born out of nowhere and somehow you would not like it if you try to relate it to previous parts. King George II was funny but looked weird. Blackbeard’s son’s lectures on compassion and righteousness were looking a mismatch. But yeah for all Jack Sparrow’s lovers, this is a must watch. He would not disappoint you. Not as good as previous parts, but certainly its worth watching once.