Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Directed by: Rob Marshall Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane Rating: NR Release Date: May 20, 2011

TRAILER SCORE: 7/10

MY THOUGHTS: Pirates of the Caribbean has a lot of sins to make up for after that third movie. The stakes are even higher with co-stars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom out of the picture, but for some reason, I have a better feeling about this one than some of the other movies in the franchise.

Sure, the story itself is simple enough, but nobody's really going into these types of movies expecting much narrative complexity. They're just looking for a swashbuckling good time and it seems like Rob Marshall might just be the man to give it to them.

I have to give a lot of the credit for this re-invigorated trailer to the new director. Verbinski seemed tired of the franchise in the last picture, but Marshall seems to be approaching it with fresh eyes.

What it really boils down to is that Rob Marshall wasn't afraid to raise the stakes. Pirates has always been a fantastical series and it's always had a dark edge to it, but if this trailer is any indication, this movie embraces the thrills. Even watching the trailer, there are moments of exhilaration and excitement that were sorely missing from At World's End. The addition of new cast members certainly doesn't hurt either. I, for one, am excited to see what kind of chemistry Depp and Cruz share onscreen.

But the true testament is that not everything has changed. They seemed to pick and choose what went and what stayed and I'm glad to see that Captain Jack Sparrow's humor remains intact. It's nice to see this new blend of the old and new. For me, it offers hope that maybe Captain Jack and crew can recover from their unceremonious end in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with a new director on hand and some fresh faces.