--- title: "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" year: 2011 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides" fi1m_score: 45 critics_score: 44 critics_reviews: 17 published: "2026-09-16T23:05:27.403854+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T23:05:54.152834+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Directed by Rob Marshall · 2h 16m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Action, Fantasy **Fi1m score: 45** · Critics 44 from 17 reviews *In a sentence:* Everyone is searching for eternal life and, at 136 minutes, the film seems to have found it > Rob Marshall trims the cast, keeps Johnny Depp and delivers one good chase and one properly frightening attack by mermaids. Between them lies a great deal of walking, and a film that has stopped being strange and settled for being long. ## Synopsis London, in the reign of King George (Richard Griffiths). Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) turns up in a courtroom to rescue his shipmate Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally) and ends up in the palace, where the king wants him to guide an expedition to the Fountain of Youth. Its navigator is to be Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), now a privateer with a wooden leg. Jack escapes through the streets and finds an impostor recruiting a crew in his name: Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a woman he once knew. He wakes aboard the ship of Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (Ian McShane), bound for the same water. ## Review The fourth *Pirates of the Caribbean* film arrives with a new director in Rob Marshall and a smaller cast: the young lovers from the earlier films have gone. What remains is Johnny Depp, and the question the film cannot avoid is whether Jack Sparrow can carry 136 minutes on his own. He cannot, and it is not entirely his fault. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio’s screenplay, drawn from a Tim Powers novel, sends everyone after the Fountain of Youth, and the journey is mostly a walk. The London opening is the liveliest stretch. Marshall can move bodies through a room; the escape from the palace, Jack swinging on a chandelier and then riding the roof of a carriage through the streets, has a lightness the film never finds again. Penny Rose puts Geoffrey Rush’s Barbossa in a privateer’s coat and a powdered wig. Richard Griffiths has one scene as King George. Depp is the difficulty, and the film seems to know it. The sway, the fluttering hands, the swerve into another subject halfway through a sentence: these are a routine now, and there is nobody here for them to bounce off. He is the plot now, and a running gag asked to carry a story starts to look like effort. Penélope Cruz helps. She plays Angelica as a woman who has heard every line before, and their duel in a London tavern, all feints and insults, is the closest the two of them get to chemistry. Ian McShane is the best thing in it and is given the least to do. His Blackbeard is quiet, weary and casually cruel, and McShane delivers each threat as if reading it off a menu. John Myhre’s ship for Blackbeard, black-hulled, a skeleton at the bow, rigging that tightens on its own when Blackbeard draws his sword, is the one place the film feels haunted. Then the script leaves him on deck while other people go and fetch things. Sam Claflin’s missionary Philip and Astrid Berges-Frisbey’s mermaid Syrena are handed a romance meant to be the heart of the film, and it plays as a pause in it. The mermaids are the other reason to watch. Marshall stages their arrival at night in a bay: one figure surfaces beside a rowing boat and sings, then there are more of them, and then the water turns on the sailors. For ten minutes we were frightened, in a 12A about pirates, because Dariusz Wolski lights the bay so that the faces under the surface are visible only when they choose to be, and Wyatt Smith and David Brenner hold each cut until the last possible moment. It is the one sequence in which the film remembers that the sea is dangerous. Then it is back to the jungle, and the jungle is dark. Wolski shoots much of the second half at night or under canopy, and on screen it is brown and grey and hard to read, with the swordfights disappearing into the murk. Hans Zimmer’s score keeps striking up the familiar theme, as if to reassure us it is still the same franchise, and we came to resent it. We were bored on the trek to the fountain, and then irritated at being bored, because a film about eternal life ought to have some idea of what a minute is worth. The last act takes a turn we will not describe. The first film in the series was a surprise: a film from a theme-park ride that turned out to have wit and a proper ghost story. Its sequels grew heavy. This one is lighter and less strange, and lightness is only worth having if it comes with speed, which here it does not. Most critics landed around where we have, and we see no reason to argue with them. Watch it for the tavern and the mermaids, and keep the remote to hand for the jungle. *Fi1m score 45, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics are unimpressed. Ten of the seventeen reviews are negative and only three are warm, and the general view is that a new director and a slimmed-down cast have not reversed the franchise’s decline. Where praise appears it goes to the supporting players, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane and Penélope Cruz in particular, and to the mermaid sequence, which several reviews single out as the one stretch with real menace. The complaints cluster on the script, which most find convoluted and slack, and on Rob Marshall’s action, described more than once as loud without being exciting. Johnny Depp divides the reviews sharply: the trade papers find him back on form, while The Times argues he has worn out his welcome and the film seems bored by him. The spread is wide, from Eye for Film calling it entertaining and surprising to Collider judging it a soulless mess. ### Reviews we read (17) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Ray Bennett (70/100, inferred): The critic finds Johnny Depp back in excellent form as Captain Jack Sparrow in this lively new installment directed by Rob Marshall. It takes a more serious tone but benefits from Penelope Cruz's addition and Marshall's flair for action and sexual tension. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/pirates-caribbean-stranger-tides-187254/) - **Variety**, Andrew Barker (70/100, inferred): The film revives the fun, feather-light frivolity of the franchise as a welcome corrective after the ponderous prior entries. The critic praises the earnest appropriations of cliches, strong action choreography and Depp's performance while noting a lack of suspense. [Read](https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-1117945199/) - **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (60/100, inferred): The review notes that the story now rests awkwardly on Depp's Sparrow alone after the departure of prior leads and director, resulting in a streamlined but lightweight film. It is better than bloated predecessors for some viewers but depends heavily on tolerance for the central character's antics. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-1798168345) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (50/100, inferred): The film is the least strange and most tedious entry in the series under new director Rob Marshall, with little of the prior exuberance. The critic praises the performances of Depp, Rush and McShane and the mermaid sequence while noting the overall mediocrity. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/movies/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-with-johnny-depp-opens.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the fourth installment too much of the same, long and bombastic with little excitement in the action sequences. He singles out the fun opening in London and the dropping of extraneous characters for mild praise. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-2011) - **Screen Daily** (40/100, inferred): The review finds that a new director and cast changes do little to improve the oversized fourth instalment in a decreasingly entertaining franchise. It notes some bright spots, particularly Geoffrey Rush’s performance as Barbossa. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides/5027387.article) - **The Guardian**, Philip French (40/100, inferred): The critic finds that this fourth instalment only slightly halts the franchise's steady decline after two laboured sequels. A poorly scripted film with forked-tongue cheekiness features the usual cast plus newcomers in a search for the Fountain of Youth that lacks coherent narrative. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/22/pirates-stranger-tides-johnny-depp) - **Slant Magazine**, Andrew Schenker (1.5/4): The critic calls the film a dim-witted bore whose nonstop clatter and frenetic activity render it uniformly dull rather than thrilling. Marshall's approach to action and 3D is uninspired, with convoluted plotting and weak humor failing to deliver anything strange or extraordinary. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides/) - **Empire**, Helen O'Hara (30/100, inferred): The critic finds this a further decline for the franchise that cannot recapture the magic of the first film or match the drive of its predecessors. An overly complicated plot and poorly thought-out characters detract from flashes of charm and quality set-pieces. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pirates-caribbean-stranger-tides-review/) - **Total Film** (30/100, inferred): The critic says the Pirates franchise is turning into a ride we all just want to get off, with Depp's Sparrow shtick now very old and the film full of filler. A languid mermaids sequence that turns into a Jaws homage is singled out as effective, along with the fight scenes. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-review/) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (20/100, inferred): The critic argues that Johnny Depp has worn out his welcome and the movie itself appears bored by him, resulting in ho-hum tedium as the franchise continues its slide into shambolic territory. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/caribbean-travel/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-rcfp56wxzj0) - **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (20/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a lifeless, reductive moneymaking exercise with tired gags, phoned-in performances and no tension or motivation for its characters. It is seen as a step down even from the previous entry due to its lack of imagination and charm. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides) - **Eye for Film**, Andrew Robertson (80/100, inferred): The critic finds it a genuinely entertaining outing that generates novelty and surprise while preserving the series' best features. They single out the strong supporting performances (including Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz) and the script's efficiency in avoiding previous muddles for praise. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-film-review-by-andrew-robertson) - **Den of Geek**, Paul Martinovic (3/5): The critic finds it not great or even good, but enjoyable enough due to its pace, 3D effects, supporting cast, and Johnny Depp's performance, despite convoluted plotting and other flaws. Praises the fun swashbuckling and Depp's charm. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides-review/) - **Digital Spy**, Stella Papamichael (3/5): Depp still makes it work with his performance amid a fraying plot; new elements like Cruz and McShane add some interest but the film feels too long with weak subplots and logic issues. It's a shade darker but relies on razzle dazzle. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a318725/pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides/) - **The Wrap** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film suffers from sequelitis, driven by economics rather than art, with repetitive action and an empty focus on Jack Sparrow. The mermaid attack sequence stands out as the one effective jolt of energy. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/pirates-4-suffers-bad-case-sequelitis-27571/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (F): The critic calls the film a major disappointment that misunderstands story, pacing, action, its history, and characters, resulting in a tedious, soulless mess with lazy writing and poor characterization. It singles out the constrained London-set first act and overall failure to deliver on the franchise's scale and creativity as key flaws. [Read](https://collider.com/pirates-4-stranger-tides-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Rob Marshall - **Director:** Rob Marshall - **Screenplay:** Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio - **Novel:** Tim Powers - **Cinematography:** Dariusz Wolski - **Editor:** Wyatt Smith, David Brenner - **Music:** Hans Zimmer - **Production design:** John Myhre - **Costume design:** Penny Rose - **Producer:** Jerry Bruckheimer - **Cast:** Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow; Penélope Cruz as Angelica; Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa; Ian McShane as Edward "Blackbeard" Teach; Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs; Sam Claflin as Philip; Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Syrena; Stephen Graham as Scrum - **Runtime:** 2h 16m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 20 May 2011 - **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Fantasy - **Budget:** $379 million - **Box office:** $1.05 billion - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax6md6HoZ2o ## Where to watch in the US - Disney+: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $7.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $17.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (2003), Fi1m 81: The one where Sparrow was a surprise and the ghost story actually frightened — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/pirates-of-the-caribbean-the-curse-of-the-black-pearl.md) - *Captain Blood* (1935): Errol Flynn shows how a pirate can be charming without waving his hands - *The Crimson Pirate* (1952): Burt Lancaster does his own stunts and the film never stops for breath - *Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World* (2003), Fi1m 86: The sea taken seriously, with cannon smoke you can nearly smell — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/master-and-commander-the-far-side-of-the-world.md) - *Treasure Island* (1950): Robert Newton’s Long John Silver set how every screen pirate has talked since --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. 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