Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

[kingstoken]

We've been without TV since the move (we finally got the TVs hooked up to satellite late today), but I did get our DVD players hooked up, so last night we watched Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, my brother had it on DVD, and surprisingly I enjoyed it.  I had avoided it years ago because I had heard it was really bad, and I will admit that it is not as good as the original trilogy, but it wasn't terrible either.  I would say its an entertaining mid-level action flick, it just comes after a really well regarded and well loved trilogy so it just can't compare.  Anyways, I enjoyed the introduction of Blackbeard, who is a real bastard in this one. The characters of Jack and Barbossa always play well off each other with their frenemies dynamic. I thought how they did the "fountain of youth" concept was neat.  I also didn't mind the Missionary/Mermaid subplot. One of the drawbacks of the the film was the forced romance between Jack and Penélope Cruz's character.  Jack admits to having corrupted her, but I think it would have been more interesting if she had been a former friend or maybe someone he tricked into becoming part of his crew instead of a former lover. There is also stuff Jack does that he should never have survived or are never fully explained, but you just go with it because it's Jack.  Anyways, I'm not sure this is a glowing endorsement or anything, but I just wanted to share because sometimes the stuff you hear is so awful maybe isn't as unwatchable as they make out.