In the fourth installment of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series, Johnny Depp returns as the always-charming Captain Jack Sparrow. Some other familiar faces return as well, such as Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Gibbs (Kevin McNally). However, what doesn’t return with ‘On Stranger Tides’ is the joy, excitement, depth and overall greatness of the first three ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ starts off promisingly, with a humorous judge-impersonation by Jack Sparrow, a great escape scene inside the King of England’s mansion, and a fun chase sequence through the streets of London. However, the rest of the film doesn’t live up to this promise.

Stemming from the ending of ‘At World’s End’, Captain Jack Sparrow is on the search for the Fountain of Youth. This MacGuffin-of-a-fountain is highly sought-after, with the British (led by Barbossa) and Spanish also in search of it, as well as “the pirate all pirates fear,” Captain Blackbeard (Ian McShane). After reuniting with his old friend Gibbs, as well as the newly “reformed” Captain Barbossa, Jack Sparrow catches up with his old flame, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), whom he soon discovers is the daughter of Blackbeard. And so begins the adventure that is ‘On Stranger Tides’.

This fourth ‘Pirates’ film isn’t bad. As a matter of fact, it’s quite entertaining and retains the same great humor found in the first three films. The problem with ‘On Stranger Tides’ comes from its uneven and convoluted script. There are far too many coincidences occurring in the film where characters show up out of nowhere to save a main character’s life; it shows the laziness of the script. Surprisingly, this fourth installment is written by the same screenwriters of the first three ‘Pirates’ films, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott. How the fourth film’s script is so weak compared to the strengths of the first three is beyond my understanding.

The entertainment of the swashbuckling action from the ‘Pirates’ trilogy is missing in this film. Instead of creative and interesting sword-fighting, ‘On Stranger Tides’ provides random swinging of swords and un-exciting action sequences.

There are also logical issues with this film, as in the case of Blackbeard’s zombie-fied crew. In ‘On Stranger Tides’, Blackbeard has transformed his closest lieutenants into zombies because they make for better cooperation. If that’s the case, then why isn’t Blackbeard’s entire crew zombie-fied? This is another example of weak storytelling by the film’s lacking script.

Also, the film features mermaids. It’s actually quite interesting how the film has turned such beautiful creatures into dangerous, man-killing animals. The mermaids are important because a mermaid’s tear is required for the ritual for the Fountain of Youth. This is yet another unneeded plot device that does nothing to contribute to the plot except for a small, relatively unimportant, romance between a captured mermaid (played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey) and a crew-member (Sam Claflin).

Blackbeard’s title as “the pirate all pirates fear” is an overstatement. Davy Jones, one of the primary antagonists in the original ‘Pirates’ trilogy, has that title in the bag. In ‘On Stranger Tides’, Blackbeard is barely a threat. His villainous facade is weakened by his, at times, sappy father-daughter relationship with Angelica. Also, the magical powers Blackbeard showcases in the film are nothing compared Davy Jones and his fearsome Kraken.

The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films have featured many far-fetched concepts before, but the ones in ‘On Stranger Tides’ are just a little too ridiculous. Sure, we’ve seen a character turn into a giant, and then into thousands of crabs in ‘At World’s End’, and we’ve seen a squid-like man that is Davy Jones, as well as treasure that turns its possessors into skeletons. The zombies and mermaid are bearable in the realm of the world of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, but magical ropes and voodoo dolls are just too much to swallow. And then there’s floating water droplets and a portal to a different dimension where the Fountain of Youth is located! It’s just – I can’t.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ is definitely entertaining and humorous, but for the most part it’s joy-less, messy, and flat. The final act set at the Fountain of Youth is underwhelming and lacks the fun of ‘Dead Man’s Chest’s’ final act, as well as the epic-ness of ‘At World’s End’s finale. Though it’s quite humorous and joyful witnessing the Spanish army’s response to the discovery of the Fountain of Youth, as well as the final interaction between Jack and Angelica, the majority of ‘On Stranger Tides’ is a disappointment. Director Rob Marshall (‘Chicago’) tries his best at continuing the franchise’s greatness, but he ultimately fails in comparison. Maybe things would have been different if the trilogy’s original director, Gore Verbinski (‘Rango‘), had taken over the directorial job for ‘On Stranger Tides’. Oh how I miss Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Kiera Knightley)…