When should the sequels stop? Pirates 4 and other thoughts.

Pirates 4: On Stranger Tides

So,
Last night the wife and I went to the movies to see the new Pirates movie. Upon its conclusion I am faced with the deep question of when the sequels should stop? Take Rocky I&II and even Godfather I&II, each of these films were blockbusters and award winning films but further sequels proved to be the death of the franchise. Another victim could be seen as the Aliens films or the any slasher horror film or the comedy franchise Scary Movie. When will the madness stop? The further a production company carries a film, the cheaper, the blander, the sadder the main characters become and thus the films suffer. A prime example is the coming "renewal" of the Terminator, where Arnold, jobless now, seeks to renew the leather jacket, sunglasses, and cold stare down. I think I'll not hold my breathe for that one.

Now onto Pirates 4
First the good parts.
As always Pirates is a character study in performance, depth, and story. Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush are now joined by Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz and all and all I can't say that the addition was a bad one. Ian McShane shines as Blackbeard and gives a new, harder, edge to the Disney villain. With sword in hand McShane and his "daughter" Cruz search the high seas for the fountain of youth in an effort to extend Blackbeard's life. Added into this mix is Captain Jack Sparrow and in their heals is the legendary Hector Barbossa. All in all the speech, the flow, the laughter, the shock and the awe, and of course Jack Sparrow never cease to amaze and tickle.
Now the bad.
The film was just too short, too compacted, and the ending was lacking in any kind of satisfaction. The film offers secondary characters, such as the Missionary and the mermaid, and gives them a rather large section of the plot, but fail to bring around any kind of reasoning as to why. Another point, all the oohs and awes (such as Jack's escape scenes and fight scenes) all have been done before. Rooftop fights, fights on barrels, fights on mystical ships, it's all be seen before in past films and Pirates 4 offers no new turns. I know this will probably will make me friendless but honestly I am scoring Pirates four a solid Three out of Five stars.
Shocking but true.
Pirates 4 just fails to pull through all the plot provided throughout the film and the end just leaves you wondering and expecting yet another sequel. As it happens let's hope Johnny Depp has enough need for self preservation to refuse to do another film. Sorry kids Jack should have ended with the third film.

Just my thoughts.
J.