"Pirates of the Caribbean 4"

Hello, guys, and welcome to part two of tonight's double feature.

Okay, so... I have an admission to make about the PotC franchise: I have never actually seen Dead Man's Chest or At World's End. Given what I've heard about the two respective movies, I would guess I am better for not having seen either part of the franchise. No, instead, I was dumped into part 4 almost immediately.

Thankfully, I didn't need to know anything about either of the two movies I just mentioned to get today's movie...

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is at it again: this time, he is searching for the famed Fountain of Youth, but not taking a crew. He eventually gets drafted onto the crew of Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who Jack may or may not have shagged at some point in his life. Thus, Jack ends up having to fight mermaids, British guys led by Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and Spanish guys in his search for the legendary Fountain.

So... The franchise was apparently supposed to go downhill from part two. Me? I can't speak for the last two movies, but this one? This one, was actually pretty fun.

The actors fortunately don't take the whole enterprise too seriously. Throughout, the tone is kept mercifully light on its feet. Thus, the many pieces of humor throughout tend to work extraordinarily well. And while Jack Sparrow is probably not the best leading character in the world, his presence in the movie manages to keep things light on their feet, and leads to some extremely playful and effective sequences throughout. And the action scenes are all pretty fun affairs thanks to this.

Of course, this isn't to say that the movie is perfect by any means. There are a lot of very important plot elements that are left unexplained, like why Blackbeard has magic powers or why the Spanish are still interested in the Fountain hundreds of years after Ponce de Leon's search proved futile. There are also a few subplots thrown in throughout that don't seem to amount to that much at the end of the day, either.

What it does well, though, it does really well. And with this, On Stranger Tides succeeds as a popcorn flick that is harmless entertainment. Is it perfect? No. But it's good, with just enough zingy humor and just enough action that it becomes entertaining. And it's a very good way to start the summer season, and better than Priest.

3/4

It has a few flaws, but it's still worth checking out.

This is Herr Wozzeck Reviews. I'll see you guys next time.