'Pirates' Franchise Plundering Wallets

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

** out of ****

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush and Sam Claflin

Running time: 137 minutes

While watching the fourth installment of Disney’s swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, one would probably wonder how the film managed to get the subtitle On Stranger Tides, since it is the least convoluted and most conventional film of the lot. Its ordinary qualities end up helping and hurting the film: the main adventure is easier to follow, but it lacks the zany fun of the earlier voyages. Even Johnny Depp’s sly bravado as the mischievous Capt. Jack Sparrow seems oddly restrained.

In this installment, Sparrow is being hunted by the British authorities while looking for a worthy crew to set sail with on a voyage to find the Fountain of Youth. An old flame, Angelica (Penelope Cruz) is also on the quest and has a boat to lend to an old friend. The thing is, she forgets to tell Sparrow that the boat belongs to her father, the dastard, notorious pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane, who is growlingly good here).

Old favourites from the original trilogy are sparse in this sequel, although Geoffrey Rush’s grimacing, one-legged Barbossa is back, and is likely hunting the Fountain to rid himself of mounds of unconvincingly-grizzled makeup. Meanwhile, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, stars of the original trilogy, are gone, but not to worry: young love is still present, this time between a stalwart missionary (Sam Claflin) and a gorgeous mermaid (Astrid Berges-Frisbey).

They’re not the only ones who have ditched this installment, as director Gore Verbinski has left the director’s chair this time, clearing the way for Rob Marshall (Chicago). Marshall has worked with big budgets before, ensuring that he can utilize exotic locations to the brim – much of the film was shot in the jungles of Oahu – while also sprucing up some exhilarating action set-pieces (at least for the first hour).

The film fairs best when it treads into darker waters, such as a frightening surprise attack from venomous mermaids, as well as instances of black magic from Blackbeard himself. But for a film about rum-drinking, sword-flailing, gold tooth-flashing pirates, the straightforward screenplay could have used a bit of loosening up. Even the swordfights, which grow tiresome after the fourth or fifth one, lack the verve and manic creativity that the epic-scaled battles in the earlier films all flaunted.

At times, On Stranger Tides is a fantastic voyage, with Depp comfortably back in his Captain chair – although his chemistry with Cruz, who he did Blow with ten years ago, has dissipated. But this pirates tale is more often a flatly generic one, even with the addition of 3D. By the time the final act begins, it is not the characters who we yearn will drink from the Fountain of Youth, but the franchise.