Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on the surface looks just like it's predecessors and fits in nicely with the art direction that's been established for the series. But under the hood, the 4th installment feels off. With the first 3 films, in spite of Johnny Depp leading the charge as Captain Jack Sparrow, all 3 films had a nice balance between the entire cast of 'leads'. Sparrow never really came off as the "Star" if you will, even though he clearly is. Taking Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley out of this one shifted the balance too far to one side, leaving Depp to carry the movie on his shoulders and it shows.

I don't think Stranger Tides is as awful as most people make this out to be, but it is definitely the weakest in the franchise. Even with the addition of Penélope Cruz as Angelica and Ian McShane as Captain Blackbeard, along with the return of Geoffrey Rush and Kevin McNally, the cast still can't save itself from a plot that just doesn't deliver at the end, not to mention that it basically swipes from the ending of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with regards the the Fountain Of Youth / Everlasting life. The Mermaids were a nice touch, but in the end, I just didn't care for the Preacher and Syrena who were nothing more than 'stand in's' for the departed Bloom and Knightley.

I still think the movie is worth a Rent just to keep up with where the series is going, heading into the next installment of the Pirates franchise. As before, stay to the very end, past the credits for one final scene.