by despotmj | Jun 8, 2011 | Opinion
Disney recently released Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of their nearly decade running pirate’s franchise. In this film, Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, is once again on a treasure hunt, this time for the fountain of youth. As usual, Depp is down on his luck, on the run from the law and without a crew or ship. Fortunately for viewers, Depp is rescued by a former love interest of his named Angelica Malon, played by Penelope Cruz. Cruz is a needed addition to the film, which has seen the departure of franchise favorites Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. From the opening scene, On Stranger Tides shows Depp engaged in an intense clash with the British government, where a member of his former crew is on trial for various charges. While in London, Depp pursues a person who has been impersonating him, culminating with his entrapment on a ship controlled by a voodoo practicing captain. The film keys on Depp and his misadventures as he pursues the most noted treasure of his own heart, which has eluded him yet again. Despite the addition of Cruz, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has grown stale, seemingly stringing together action scenes tied around a loose plot. Without Bloom and Knightley, the franchise has lost two of its most central characters, whose romance provided a well-developed side plot to the films. After three successful movies, On Stranger Tides seems to leave the franchise shipwrecked. Instead of asking Depp’s famous line, “Where has all the rum gone?” Disney should instead ask itself, where has all the magic...
