"Pirates" set sail to boredom

The title song is nostalgic and reminiscent of summers past. A familiar, drunken pirate sets sail on a large ship, heading towards a mysterious goal. This time, the title is slightly different, and a few key character change, but not much else. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" is similar to its three predecessors, but with a more understandable plot and funnier moments than "Pirates" two and three; it is enjoyable but not worth the money.

In somewhat disconnect from the end of the previous "Pirates" installment, the notorious Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is in London recruiting a new crew and trying to find a ship to replace the Black Pearl. Sparrow encounters a former lover, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who is impersonating Sparrow to try to recruit her own crew. Sparrow gets into trouble with the King of England, and when he escapes he is forced by Angelica to join Blackbeard's (Ian McShane) crew. A British crew, headed by former pirate Barbossa (Geoffery Rush) and a group of Spanish explorers join Blackbeard in the quest to find the fountain of youth. The crews must face mermaids, mutiny and conflicts to reach the fountain, but once there the turmoil only begins.

The second and third "Pirates" movies' plots were terribly confusing, but "On Stranger Tides" was pretty straight forward. Unfortunately, the story line was drawn out and boring, and left audiences unsatisfied. The ending is obviously leading up to a fifth sequel and, although these profits might boost the economy, there is little else to draw out of such an overworked movie series.

Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly's presence in this movie is dearly missed for their love story was one of the most driving plot points of the first three pieces of the saga. Thankfully, a new romance blooms between the ship's missionary Phillip (Sam Claflin) and the mermaid Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), but their passion and romantic tension cannot match that between Bloom and Knightly.

Cruz's fresh presence is welcomed as her acting and chemistry with Depp shine a light on the movie's dark points. She brings humor to the movie, and every fight scene that she's involved in is fun and entertaining. As usual, Jack Sparrow was an incredibly interesting and hilariously entertaining presence, and will surely sustain his place as one of the most memorable movie characters of all time.

The graphics and fight scenes, which were intricate and masterful, were a step up from previous "Pirates" installments. Mermaids, while they were actually portrayed by human actors, were digitally altered to create a extremely beautiful, yet creepy creatures. Every fight scene was riveting and fun to watch, unlike many fight scenes in previous "Pirates" movies.

What really brings this movie to a sub-par level is the fact that it is not really related to any of the previous movies. Of course, some of the characters maintained in tact, but much of the creepiness and majestic qualities of the original movies were lost. The film's comedic moments were were fewer and farther between, as opposed to the previous installments. "Pirates" is just a movie franchise that should quit while it is ahead, instead of dragging out a strained and frankly boring concept.