Captain Jack is Back!

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2011)

Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica, Captain Jack Sparrow is not sure if it's love-or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the "Queen Anne's Revenge," the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard, Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past. -- (C) Disney
POTC4 is not better than POTC and POTC2, which goes without saying. However, I'm happy to say that it is easily better than the overlong and overbloated POTC3. On top of the fact that this is essentially a reboot of the series (you'll be hearing that a lot this year), POTC4 is quite enjoyable than one might expect in what seems to be a tired and prolonged series! Even though Gore Verbinski is out of the director's chair, Rob Marshall keeps the film consistent with the previous films in terms of style and returning characters, including the great Captain Jack Sparrow. However, even though it is the shortest film in the series, it still felt very bloated like the previous films. 30 minutes could have been easily cut out in the film's first hour, which unfortunately dragged quite a bit. However, once the mermaids come in, everything starts to pick up fairly quickly, and the film ends up being a really enjoyable action-adventure, a feeling which was absent in POTC3.
And speaking of mermaids, they are one of the best and most unique parts of the film so much so that I wish they were in the story much longer than one 10-minute sequence. Still, the film doesn't suffer once they are gone. In fact, the second half of the film is just as entertaining with a climax that's just plain fun. Johnny Depp returns, playing the role that he's probably most well known for. Even the fourth time around, I still enjoy his antics and clever, funny lines. I don't think it'll ever get old. Geoffrey Rush also returns as Barbossa, although he seemed a little tired and old in here. There are some new members in the cast, most notably Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane. I thought Cruz brought some life in the film, and she made the story a little more interesting. I didn't find McShane to be any special, but he wasn't bad either. There's also Sam Claflin and Astrid Berges- Frisbey, who I thought had a sweet (albeit unnecessary) romance subplot.
As with any Pirates film, POTC4 has some great set pieces, although the action seems to happen in a much smaller scale than the previous films, which didn't bother me. The effects for the mermaids are really great as well. Hans Zimmer's soundtrack is as loud and bombastic as ever, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just wasn't different or new. Overall, although POTC4 isn't the great return to form everyone was hoping for, it's still a huge improvement over POT3. The addition of Cruz is also a huge plus and seeing her and Depp's interplay is pretty great. If you wanna have a fun time at the theater, you can do a lot worse. Also, wait until the scene after the end credits if you want to see the inevitable open ending to POTC5. 6.5/10