Some say that summer begins when the temperature rises, when days get longer and when skirts get shorter. But there are few better indications of its arrival than Johnny Depp waltzing onscreen with dreadlocks and a bandana.
In the midst of law-evading shenanigans en route to finding the Fountain of Youth, Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) crosses paths and swords with a feisty woman from his past, Angelica (Penélope Cruz). Naturally, he’s wronged her in some way and she tricks him aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, a ship helmed by her father, the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Blackbeard, too, seeks the Fountain, as do series veteran Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now a privateer in the King’s service, and a bunch of Spaniards.
Previous Pirates films have all been middle-of-the-road affairs. While they bring adventure, exhilarating fights and hilarious dialogue, they also have too many plot threads, run longer than necessary and are all really the same deal with goals and villains altered slightly. The fourth installment doesn’t drift too far from the formula but those who know what the franchise stands for will be pleased.
It’s funny of course. Not side-splittingly so, but there are several levels of laughs to it, from smart to slapstick. Johnny Depp is in his element and he takes the absurdity of the Jack Sparrow role into top gear. This is the first film in the series without the star pairing of Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, but their absence is not really felt. It’s unfortunate though that some romance was deemed necessary and, true to Pirates form, there’s a throwaway subplot between a missionary and a mermaid. The mermaids in this picture are terrifying, by the way, and yes, Jack Sparrow makes a joke about the missionary position.
It may not be different, original or completely coherent, but think of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as the fourth episode of the Johnny Depp Show. Seeing him do what he does best is like hanging out with an alcoholic friend who shows up at your place every now and then to crack the same jokes and tell the same stories—just with eyeliner and flailing arms. That unadulterated fun can’t be swapped for anything. Oh, and stay past the end credits.