Pirates of the Caribbean 4

The Pirates Of Caribbean franchise has made Walt Disney over $2.6 billion – that’s more than the GDP of many developing nations. When you’ve got a license to print money, there’s no financial reason to stop making more and with Johnny Depp receiving a reported $55.5 million, it’s difficult to see a reason why he wouldn’t reprise his role

Its unnecessarily complicated plot obfuscates any charm that Jack Sparrow still has (and even his cheeky demeanor is wearing). Not only does the fountain of youth have to be found but to use its powers not one but two missing silver chalices must be utilized, one of which must be filled with a mermaid’s tear. It plays out like a string of video game RPG-sub quests – go here, get this, fetch that – without any of the sense of achievement.

The plot is again driven by a search for something virtually unobtainable as Jack finds himself in a chase to find the fountain of youth in competition with not only the returning Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush, having fun once more) but also the Spanish navy and the most deadly pirate of them all, Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

Cruz makes a splendid entrance in disguise but once revealed she brings her Oscar-winning vivacity to an irrepressible woman who claims to be Blackbeard’s daughter. McShane, too, grabs his first appearance on the bridge of a pirate ship with great panache.

No less would be expected of Rolling Stone Keith Richards, who has a killer line as Jack’s indomitable pirate father when his son asks him whether he’s ever seen the fountain of youth. It feeds cleverly on the Richards legend and will become one of the most-quoted lines from the series.

Clocking in at a heavyweight two hours and 15 minutes, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is bloated, boring and smothers any charm that the series once has under a punishingly dull cavalcade of action sequences, nonsensical plot and tiresome characters.Abandon Ship.Its just a clause abandon ship,as in the plot is like an abandon ship.