Considering the whole franchise was based on a theme park ride, Disney have sure got a hell of a lot of nautical mileage from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. With the last one – At World’s End – being the slowest and dullest of the series so far, it was a surprise to see yet another instalment given the green light. But is this fourth adventure for Captain Jack Sparrow just one boat trip too many?

After narrowly escaping a death sentence in London, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) becomes annoyed that someone is impersonating him. On top of that, he learns that the impersonator is also getting a crew together. On finally confronting them, Jack discovers who his identity thief is, none other than his old sweetheart Angelica (Penélope Cruz).

Angelica is not only attractive but she also knows what it means to be a pirate; this comes as no surprise really as her father is none other than Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Both father and daughter are on a deadly mission to discover the famed Fountain of Youth.

Even when they get to the fountain however, it’s no simple procedure to take advantage of its youth-giving powers; not only are two specific chalices needed, but also a teardrop from a mermaid. And for one to become youthful, they have to take the remaining years left from another.

So Jack sets sail with the infamous Blackbeard and his daughter to the youthful location, but they are not alone; not only is a Spanish armada keen to discover the fabled destination, but so is Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). The race to youthfulness is well and truly on.

I told you my fee for this film could touch the sky. Impressive huh?

With no return for Keira Knightly or Orlando Bloom, this was the perfect opportunity to give audiences more of what they really wanted: more Cap’n Jack. And to a certain extent that’s exactly what they get. In doing so however, the filmmakers just aren’t quite sure what to do with him. A love interest is dumped into the mix in the shape of Cruz in an attempt to sex things up a bit. Romance has little time to blossom on the high seas though, as a convoluted plot anchors any chance of almost anything developing.

It was probably a good time for director Gore Verbinski to jump ship; he had helmed the trilogy and by the third instalment it was beginning to show. Unfortunately Rob Marshall (whose previous films include the action-packed Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago and Nine) seems all too overwhelmed with this particular episode. Admittedly he’s not helped by a script that continually ties itself in knots; why must a pirate film be so darn confusing? Overall though, there’s a feeling that he just doesn’t manage to get a handle on things and is more than a tad out of his depth.

Ian McShane is a great addition to the cast, but with so much going on, his contribution gets totally watered down. It’s also great to see Rush return, but again, his character just seems thrown in to keep the numbers up.

And to Depp himself; his contribution is nothing like it was in the original film, but then the same can be said of his subsequent outings as Sparrow too. His action scenes at least have more adventure about them, but his dialogue throughout is about as exciting as damp squid. Probably more so than any of the other films, Sparrow is sadly more about caricature than character. This has to be considered a missed opportunity on everyone’s part.

Compared to At World’s End, On Stranger Tides is most definitely a more enjoyable trip. It’s just a shame that the script not only takes itself far too seriously, but spends far too much time in doing so. What would have been great to see was Sparrow letting his dreadlocks down and having more fun on the Caribbean; perhaps they’re saving that for Pirates 5 which is already confirmed as being on the horizon. Arghh indeed.