Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Rating: Null/10 (24 May 2011)

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) travels to London to locate a person who has been impersonating him. The imposter has been recruiting a crew to search for the legendary Fountain of Youth. First Sparrow rescues his former first mate, Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), who is about to be hanged, though the two are captured. Jack is brought before King George II (Richard Griffiths), who wants him to guide an expedition to the Fountain of Youth before the Spanish find it. Heading the expedition is Jack's old nemesis, Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now a privateer in service to the British Navy after having lost Jack's ship, the Black Pearl, as well as his leg.
Jack escapes, and is found by his father, Captain Teague (Keith Richards), who warns Jack about the Fountain's tests. Jack then discovers that the imposter is Angelica (Penélope Cruz), his former lover and daughter of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), who possesses several magical powers, including the ability to shrink other ships down to miniature size and contain them within bottles (the fate of the Black Pearl). Blackbeard is also a master of voodoo, and has rendered his most trusted lieutenants into completely loyal, seemingly invulnerable zombies, in addition to being able to create working voodoo dolls. Finally, Blackbeard possesses a magical cutlass that gives him total control over the rigging of any ship, allowing him to easily subdue a crew by tying them up with the ropes. Blackbeard forces Jack to join his crew and lead them to the Fountain to circumvent a prophecy that a one-legged man will soon kill Blackbeard. Meanwhile, Gibbs, who memorized, then destroyed Sparrow's map, joins Barbossa's crew in order to beat Blackbeard and the Spanish to the Fountain.
Aboard Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, Angelica reveals that the Fountain's water must be drunk from silver chalices once belonging to Juan Ponce de León, and that one chalice must contain a mermaid's tear. Whoever drinks from the chalice without the tear will die; while the person drinking from the chalice with the tear will have their life magically extended, by "all the years the other person has lived, and all they might have lived". Blackbeard intends to use this magic to circumvent his fated encounter with the one-legged man, and so the Queen Anne's Revenge heads to Whitecap Bay, where he traps a mermaid that a captive missionary, Philip Swift (Sam Claflin), later names Syrena (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey). Blackbeard then sends Sparrow to steal the chalices from de León's grounded ship. Sparrow arrives finding only Barbossa: the Spanish have already taken the chalices.
Barbossa admits he only wants to kill Blackbeard for capturing the Black Pearl, forcing Barbossa to amputate his own leg to escape in the process. He and Jack devise a plan to defeat Blackbeard; they then steal the chalices from the Spanish camp nearby. Meanwhile, Angelica tricks Syrena, who has fallen in love with Philip (who returns those feelings), into shedding a tear, which Blackbeard collects, then leaves her to die while forcing Philip to go with him. Sparrow returns with the chalices and Gibbs, who he had reunited with while helping Barbossa. Jack blackmails Blackbeard to get back his confiscated magical compass (which points in the direction of whatever the person holding it desires most) and to free Gibbs in exchange for giving him the chalices and leading them to the Fountain. Blackbeard accepts Jack's terms and Jack continues to lead them, while Gibbs, who is let go, departs with Jack's compass.
At the Fountain, Blackbeard and his crew are attacked by Barbossa and the Spanish, who have been sent by the king to destroy the Fountain, believing its ability to grant eternal life to be an abomination against God. After a lengthy fight, Barbossa stabs Blackbeard with a sword laced with lethal venom from a poison dart frog, but Angelica is also wounded by it. Barbossa then steals Blackbeard's magical sword and escapes alongside Blackbeard's former crew. Philip, mortally wounded, escapes and returns to Syrena and frees her. After finding the chalices and giving them to Sparrow, Syrena returns and takes the dying Phillip underwater to heal him.
Angelica intends to sacrifice her life so that her father will live, but Sparrow tricks Blackbeard into drinking from the chalice without the tear while Angelica drinks from the other, killing Blackbeard and saving Angelica. However, suspecting she may try to avenge her father's death, Sparrow strands her on an island, intending for a passing ship to find her. After much bantering, they both declare their love for each other, but Jack still leaves her on the island knowing she is untrustworthy. Jack then meets up with Gibbs, who used Sparrow's compass to find the Revenge and has retrieved all the shrunken ships, including the Black Pearl, before Barbossa sets sail. The two head off, hoping to find a way to return the Pearl to its original size.
In a post-credits scene, Angelica, still on the island, finds Blackbeard's voodoo doll of Sparrow which has washed ashore.