"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Movie Review

First off, you should watch On Stranger Tides in 3D. The 3D effect is watchable and entertaining: you can really feel the depth and perspective of 3D. (Unlike when I saw Clash of the Titans.)

Officially, On Strange Tides is the first live action 3D I really enjoyed.

They say On Stranger Tides is the start of a new Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. But some consider this only as a third film because Part II: Dead Man's Chest and Part III: At World's End run on the same story line.

But no matter what, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is still the cunning, witty and comical character we will enjoy to watch no matter how many Pirates of the Caribbean films there are in this lifetime.

In At World's End, we saw Jack Sparrow losing the Black Pearl to Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), but having the map to the Fountain of Youth. The story continued in this film with Jack finding out that another Jack Sparrow was recruiting pirates to search for the Fountain of Youth.

As he soon found out, the other Jack Sparrow was actually a woman, Angelica played by Penelope Cruz. She was a woman in Jack's past and she seems to be the only woman Jack has "starings" for.

Well, Jack preferred "starings". But later he will tell his first mate, "Okay. Feelings. Damn you."

Angelica forced Jack aboard the Queen's Revenge, the ship of the dreaded pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), who has the power to control a ship telepathically by moving his sword. Blackbeard is looking for the Fountain because of a prophecy that he will be killed by a man with one foot.

Meanwhile, Barbossa after losing the Black Pearl and left foot to Blackbeard, has joined English government's search for the Fountain of Youth. He wasn't really interested in the Fountain but wanted to take revenge from Blackbeard and reclaim the Black Pearl.

And another party looking for the Fountain of Youth are the Spaniards, who see the Fountain as a pagan worship and does not follow the teachings of their religion. Thus, they want to destroy the Fountain.

For the Fountain of Youth to take effect, they need a drop of tears of a mermaid and two silver chalices from an old pirate ship.

The plot that ensues thereafter is a masterfully crafted woven events with twists and turns which are both expected and not.

The character of Captain Jack Sparrow has remained the center of it all. We already know he will get out of trouble eventually, but the intrigue and the element of surprise lies upon "how" he will do it. This pirate really never runs out of ideas.

Watching On Stranger Tides feels a little bit like watching a cartoon brought to life. In a good way. We can see Jack springing from tree to tree. And then he traps the Spaniards in a rope which I thought can only happen in a cartoon. And yet I am entertained. I don't find it corny.

For those who are saying we've had too much of Captain Jack Sparrow, I say I don't think so. As long as Jack stays as clever and funny as he is, I will still be watching him.