A good movie, but with questionable plot options

Rating: 5/10 (13 April 2016)

This film is the fourth of the saga "Pirates of the Caribbean". In this film, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), after an incredible escape from London, where he should be tried, sets sail in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth as a prisoner of Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his alleged daughter, Angelica ( Penelope Cruz), a Spanish girl who angelic has only the name. Against them will oppose the Spanish and English navies, the latter being led by Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who now works for the English king. Directed by Rob Marshall, has screenplay by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, and other collaborators.
There are certain films that are made in the name of art and because of challenge they represent. I think the first film of this saga was one of them. But there are many other that are made for profit only, and this was clearly one of them. Far from being very good or have the quality of its previous, it was sufficiently acceptable. The cast was up to, but Depp could no longer be as funny as in previous films. His character, despite the unpredictability, didn't surprised the audience who, knowing him better now, expects anything from him. The end of the participation of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, justified by the conclusion of the story of their characters in the previous film, may also have made this movie less interesting, especially considering the importance of their characters in previous films (it was their love that began all the story), how the absence of these characters breaks the link of this movie with the others and also the fruitful way they shared the scene with Depp and Rush. If the input of Penelope Cruz in the plot was planned to address this lack, then it failed miserably, despite the merits of the actress, who made her best efforts and proved to be a great romantic match for Jack Sparrow, thanks to the fiery and impetuous personality of her character. Equally surprising was Rush, who held the role of Barbossa, whom fate has now made king's privateer. Without a leg and with a wig that completely clashes with his appearance, Barbossa seems more than ever with Long John Silver. The major flaw of this film is the plot: not being able to continue the story that came from the previous films, the script created a whole new story which takes maybe some years after the action of the third film, and only kept some characters from that film. Its a legitimate solution, recurrent in sequels but questionable here, after three films where the plot maintained its unity. This film eventually clash with them as a black sheep in a flock of white sheep. Making a prequel to the first film maybe had revealed a more interesting idea, respecting plot's unity in the whole saga.
When this movie was announced, the audience waited eagerly. However, with a new plot, this movie became an "alien" in this cinematic saga. Despite this less positive note, the film is good and the actors deserved congratulations. We just have to understand that this film has almost nothing to do with the previous ones.