Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Review
This is the fourth installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In this movie we see Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), once again in desperate need of finding a ship. This time Jack’s quest is to find the Fountain of Youth, however he’s not alone. Rumor has it someone is impersonating him, and gathering a crew to also find the Fountain of Youth. This impersonator happens to be his ex-girlfriend Angelica (Penelope Cruz). She and her evil father, Blackbeard (Ian McShane) along with Jack’s long time rival, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and even the king of Spain, are all racing to find the magical waters that claim eternal life. They eventually come to realize it’s not as easy as they hoped it would be; they need to find two magical chalices and a single tear from a mermaid before they can complete their mission of finding this mysterious fountain. This is a great adventurous movie for the whole family.
Rating: Three out of five buckets
Release Date: October 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 11+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Talking Points
There are some new and interesting characters. I thought Penelope Cruz was great as Angelica, but I especially liked Sam Claflin’s character; he played a missionary named Philip. He was a soft-hearted man who tried to find the good in everyone, even the evil Blackbeard.
Through all the action and violence, there’s a religious element to the film. As they’re looking for the Fountain of Youth, one character says, “Only God can grant eternal life.” I think that’s great for kids to hear.
People that liked the first three movies in this series, will like this one as well. I’ve heard many comments that this fourth movie is a little different, and better than the second and third films.
Sexual Content: Mild
• We only see a kiss, however there is sexual tension between Jack and Angelica.
• The mermaids are naked from the waist up, though we don’t see anything because their hair covers them.
Violent Content: Excessive
• There are sword fights, gun shots, and stabbings throughout the movie.
• Mermaids with fangs, attack a group of men on a boat, and drag them into the sea.
• There are scary walking dead zombies.
• Blackbeard has a voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow. He uses it periodically to torture Jack.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• The h-word, d-word and b-tard word are used, however not a lot.
Overall this is an adventurous, action packed movie. As I previously mentioned, there is a lot of violence, but fine for a PG13 rated movie. Depending on whether your child can handle some of the violent scenes, I recommend this movie for kids ages 11 and up.
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