Ho ho ho, this pirate has been milked dry

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2011)

Being the fourth part in the series the general setting of this film will not have to be explained. It more or less continues the story where the third film left of. Jack has the map that leads to the fountain of youth, and is in need of a ship and a crew.
Missing most of the original crew this film has to make do with a lot of new people. This isn't bad - most of the new ones come across as fitting and make for a new setting. Personally I am missing some of the comical characters of the previous films though - especially the guy with the prosthetic eye and his mate. The pair of them made for an extra bit of comedy with their constant bickering and his fooling with the eye.
The film starts with a bang and explains the situation as well as it must - it sets out the stage for the rest of the film. As the action starts rolling it looks rather promising. But then...
Then the film gets to its main part and it becomes clear that it is a clear attempt at rinse and repeat of the success of the previous ones with different characters. Some bits are flaky, some are rather good, but overall the film is on the dull end of the spectrum. It's not entirely unpleasant, but it could have been so much more.
Finally we get to the 3D layer that was added. Again it can be said that it doesn't add a single thing. The few scenes that really worked were the standard gimmicky scenes where a sword sticks into the audience - please stop doing that, it's been done, it's becoming a drag. Either make a film for 3D or keep it 2D. This one is clearly made for the 2D market and that is just fine, just don't try to sell it as 3D to make some extra money.
6 out of 10 bored pirates