Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Jack Sparrow (Depp) is back with a vengeance in the fourth instalment of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean films. This time, Jack is in hot pursuit of the fountain of youth, and finds himself a prisoner aboard the ship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), and reunited with his former lover, Angelica (Cruz). Meanwhile, Sparrow’s old frenemy Barbosa (Rush) has been hired by King George (Richard Griffiths) to seek out the fountain’s location and prevent the Spanish from finding it. Locked in a frantic race to the finish, all the procurers of the fountain find that its promises of eternal youth are not all they seem.

Fans who give the fourth film a chance will not be disappointed. Vividly gripping, the plot moves along faster than the previous two sequels and presents new characters that are charming and welcome additions to the cast of old favourites. Cruz is the perfect counterpoint to Jack’s unchanging smarminess as his old flame Angelica, and keeps the chemistry between them poker-hot throughout the film. Blackbeard is as terrible a villain as any that have graced the series, and the supernatural element that has marked the previous films finds a breath of fresh air in the inclusion of mystical mermaids and gruesome zombies.

The scriptwriting remains sharp as ever, with the pacing and humour a definite improvement from At World’s End. The absence of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley ensures that the focus is solely on Jack, who really deserved our full attention from the start.

On Stranger Tides is one of those rare cinematic beasts: an enjoyable sequel. Though the initial action scenes may be rather contrived, the film demonstrates that Jack Sparrow’s stories are thankfully far from finished - there will always be another ship for everyone’s favourite pirate to commandeer and pillage.

Ana Pereira-de-Souza