As the film opens, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is momentarily distracted from the course he was pursuing at the conclusion of "At World's End." Here, he is in London saving the neck of his long-time first mate Gibbs (Kevin McNally). Jack also must discover the identity of his impersonator who is attempting to gather a crew to sail to the fountain of youth, which happens to be on Jack's to-do list. Pretty soon he finds himself back on course and in league with an old flame, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), her father Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and fast-pursued by, love him or hate him, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). This journey will involve mermaids, light houses, rituals and high-seas adventure that by now has become smooth-sailing for witty Captain Jack.
There are also bits involving a zombie crew on Blackbeard's ship, The Queen Anne's Revenge. Aside from a brief quip about Blackbeard making them that way, the exact nature of the zombies goes unexplained, however, and it feels like a missed opportunity to incorporate some of the supernatural elements that gave the first film its eerie undertones. The rigging of the ship also has a funny way of coming to life via Blackbeard fondling his sword, and this frees up the zombie crew to whip the human mates into shape while the ship sets sail itself.
Throughout the opening passages of the film, it's hard to not think of Jack as a licensed Disney property at this point; a persona rather than a character. Thankfully, Johnny Depp channels an ambiguousness to Jack that somehow elevates his actions and as the film moves forward, he begins to grow on you once more. Where most characters need motivation for levity, the unique aspect of Sparrow is that you never know what his motivation is, except to find that beloved Black Pearl. What has happened to his Pearl, I will not reveal, let's just say it must take some skill to have done it. Barbossa has motivation alright, but it stays hidden until the film's last act and for the fourth time, Geoffrey Rush steals almost every scene he inhabits. He's just so darn good at being a Pirate at this point that you'd swear he cut his own leg off to get the part.
Gone are the characters played by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, and throughout this movie, it's painfully obvious that they served the purpose of providing the audience empathy. They are not missed. A portion of the Will Turner character is evident in a quasi-replacement in the form of a Christian Missionary played by Sam Claflin. His subdued role never gets in the way of the main action, which swashbuckles it's way through 136 minutes of entertainment. The second and third installment of the "Pirates" films arguably wear out their welcome on subsequent viewings, although it takes subsequent viewings to understand them. "On Stranger Tides" finds the right balance, I think, by sticking closer to the tone and ambition of the first film and to that degree, it is a success.
Yet when the first film was so good and still prevails as one of the most memorable entertainments of the last decade, was it necessary to give audiences another "Pirates" film so soon? Perhaps not, but it's a solid effort that is adequately handled by Rob Marshall, who takes over the reigns as director from Gore Verbinski. I understand another sequel or two are in the works. That's all yo-ho and savvy and all that but don't the producers who finance these things realize that Disneyland has other rides as well? And I'm sure that Johnny Depp would like a break at some point to take a shower.
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