Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back with all of his usual shenanigans in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” my favorite movie out of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series yet.

This time, he finds himself imprisoned on legendary pirate Blackbeard’s (Ian McShane) ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, after he crosses paths with a former flame, Angelica (Penélope Cruz). Queen Anne’s Revenge finds itself in a race, along with England and Spain, to find the Fountain of Youth.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is the fourth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and when the previous movie, ”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” failed to impress me, I didn’t have high expectations for the fourth.

But this film is full of romance, action and comedy, so there is sure to be something that everyone will like. With interesting characters that range from mermaids to zombies and action-packed sword fighting scenes, this movie filled the audience with suspense and anticipation for each character’s next move.

The storyline involving Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) was played out in the first three movies and came to an end in the third movie, which opened up the plot to focus more around Sparrow’s adventures and introduce new characters who could take the tale in fresh directions.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” reminded me of why I love the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which is Captain Jack Sparrow. His unique sense of humor never ceases to entertain the audience and it provided refreshing amusement in between intense scenes. The movie also had a close tie with faith and showed a deeper side to Sparrow that wasn’t really touched on in the first three movies.

This movie not only surpassed my expectations, but it blew my mind with the vivid images, brilliant script, fresh characters, and unique plot.

This movie was definitely worth the eight gold doubloons I spent  for a ticket.

Caroline Spath is a Multimedia Editor for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com.